Nobody, Nothing, No Matter
by foxworth
Summary: The Organization is back, no one knows why, Not even its own members-at least, that's what they're saying...Zexion fanfic. Slash, but still in canon. Suggestions via reviews strongly encouraged. Now editing, will be followed by a sequel soon!
1. Chapter 1: Rebuild

Hello! For any of you who have followed my previous works, I have fallen out of love with those stories, so I am going to leave them alone for the time being. Instead, I am working on this new story, which will build on some themes I've used before and also give me a chance to work with some new (to me) characters. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Chapter 1: Rebuild

_Do it. Take us back._

_But…but what if I—_

_You don't have a choice. It is your duty, as one of us. Take us back now._

_But, if I do that…won't yeh—?_

_That is none of your concern. And you are in no position to deliberate. Do it._

_The…th'others…they won't f'give you for this._

_They won't know. Just do as you're told._

_Ah…A'ight. Jus' give me a moment…and…_

* * *

**Zexion's PoV**

_Whispers and secrets and plots and/"Surely you must have known this was going to happen"/me, no not me, can't be me, what's going on/"Forgive me...Zexion"/my chest, it hurts, it's splitting, why/"Silence!"/something's coming, this isn't me, help-_

_Then I shall make you see... that your hopes are nothing! Nothing but a mere illusion!_

"NOOOOOOOO!"

Jumped, hit the floor, stayed there: had to escape, where could I run, where could I hide? Everything hurt-my head, my chest-and its all pounding, there's a pounding going through my chest and it's hitting everything and breaking everything and there's a voice in here too, a big bad voice that's cold and dark and saying things about me, telling me everything bad I did, and I just want it to stop-

"Somebody, please, make it stop, make it go away, go away!"

"Zexion!"

A light hits me, and I can't see, but I feel two large arms pick me up and lift me way way up, and I know who it's gotta be. "Lexaeus? Are-are you Lexaeus, please?"

"Yes Zexion, I'm here." He's got me like a craddled baby now, and I reach out and grab his coat and just bury my face inside the black folds. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh Lexaeus, it's awful! It was so dark and scary, and you were there, and Vexen was there, and I was so bad, I did all this awful stuff to everybody-"

"Zexion...it's alright. Be calm. It was only a nightmare."

"No it wasn't!" Why didn't he understand? I looked up at his stone face, big mean stone face, and he was calm like always. "The big black Heartless took something outta my chest, and I grew older, and I made another kid almost die, and..." And the the scary part happened. "And you died, Lexaeus. You...you died, and went into the dark, and then I did too." He finally started listening; he reached a hand up to wipe away my tears, and the stone turned soft like when we played at the castle. Why weren't we there anymore...? "Lexaeus...am I dead? I remember the dark too. I saw you...and then I woke up."

"You are not dead, Zexion." Someone behind me-I looked, and there was my teacher, Vexen, in the doorway. "Though we all should be. Lexaeus, what happened?"

Lexaeus saw him, then turned to put me down on the bed. I huddled my way under the sheets, but I really didn't want to; I wanted to stay in Lexaeus' arms. It was safe there. But now he left me alone, walked over to Vexen and acted like I wasn't even there, the way he always did when Vexen was around. "I'm uncertain...he's not himself. He remembers everything from before, but his mind is...troubled."

My chest started hurting more, and I looked up to ask for help...but they both had their backs to me, just outside the door. Why wouldn't they help me? "Hello?"

"It's understandable, Number V. Zexion was only a child when he lost his heart, it stands to reason that it had an effect on him."

"But that was years ago. Why now?"

I was right there, they should've talked to me too! My chest was killing me, but I had the strength to reach out to them. "Uhhh...Help? Please?" Nothing...they would look at me. "Please...It hurts...something's happening..."

"Should we tell the others?"

"Wait awhile, Vexen. Let's figure it out ourselves, then-" Right there, something struck a chord in me; the pain split and moved, changing from my chest and shooting up into my head. I shot up, barely realizing what was happening, and I screamed:

"Do not dismiss me, either of you! I am not some petulant child to be tossed aside, I will not be ignored!"

They finally whipped around...and they just stared at me. They didn't know what to think. I...I didn't know what to think. "Zexion? Is that really you?"

"I...I..." The tears started coming out again, but I couldn't reach up, couldn't wipe them away. I couldn't move; I didn't know what would make the bad guy come out of me again. "I...what's wrong with me?"

Vexen came to me this time; he sat down beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder, forcing me to lie back down. His hand was so cold, and the cold went all through me. It made me so cold, yet so relaxed, so...sleepy... "Sleep, Zexion. Sleep, and feel better in the morning. We'll take care of everything, just...sleep. Whatever happens, we will fix you. I won't allow otherwise."

* * *

**Axel's PoV**

"Coming, Saix, I'm coming! Look, I'll be there in a sec, ok?"

I was running really late; I'd over slept again, and Saix was pounding at the door for me. God, why'd I have to stay up late watching soaps again? Now I needed to get dressed, clean up all the junk and wrappers from the food, check on Roxas…

"Axel, you need to come to the meeting room, now. The Superior has urgent news regarding all of us."

"And I get that, Saix, so I'll be there! Geez, get it memorized already!" Once I made my bed, by which I mean threw the sheets over it and gave up, I grabbed my coat, zipped it up enough so I didn't look like I just rolled out of bed, and threw the door open. Saix managed to jump back in time for the door to miss him, and he looked at me with this look of…incredulousness? Nah...nah, it was more pure, more…fearful than that. Well, what ever it was, it was creepin' me out.

"What're you looking at?" Damn, I almost scared myself with how cold I was. Wait...no, that's not right. I didn't scare myself. I-I didn't, I couldn't, what…?

…Anyway, Saix took a moment before he returned to his usual cold glare, and grabbed me by the arm. "You were drinking last night, weren't you? And now you are late. Now move." He started dragging me along the halls. I of course went along without a lot of complaining-my head was still fuzzy. I didn't think I'd had too much to drink—trust me, I'd know if I were hung over—but something wasn't adding up...this was the castle, as always, but I didn't recognize this part of it. It took me a moment to realize…

"Hey, Saix, why aren't we going to the meeting room? C'mon, bring up the portal, bing bang boom, we'll be there in no time."

He just looked back at me and smirked. "No portals today. Xemnas will explain why. Now try not to do anything stupid while I find a way in."

"What? You mean you don't know where you're going?"

"Of course I do. Now hold on…" He stopped at one point, a part of the hall that just stretched on both ways. There were no stairs, no doors, nothing. Saix just stared at the wall, closed his eyes…and drew his Berserker.

"Uhh...Saix?" That triggered it; the second I said it, he raised the thing over his head like a giant club and smashed it against the wall.

I didn't even take the time to register what had happened-I dropped at the knees and made myself as flat as possible. See, we've been dealing with Saix's "berzerker state" for so long, Xemnas actually set up a protocol for when it happens. Following it to the letter, I kept my head down and crawled as close in to Saix as I could-that's probably the safest place when he goes nuts like that, and if you don't believe me, there was plenty of rubble flying around the hall that could tell you differently.

Yeah, Saix was on a roll, throwing smash after smash, faster than I could keep count. In a flurry of spikes and blasts, he smashed through clear to the other side of the wall—which, conveniently, turned out to be the meeting room.

Saix, of course, came down from his berserker state without a hitch. Well...almost without a hitch. Once he stopped trying to crush everything in sight, he did something I'd never seen him do before; he fell to the ground, crouched on one knee, and brought his hand up to cover his face. It was almost as if he were trying to compose himself, which didn't make any sense. After all, he'd never had trouble transitioning before; the berzerker was just a power surge, it's not like he actually got angry...right?

...So, once the moment had passed, he simple stood up, brushed the hair away from his face, and turned to look at me in that same cold stare.

"What are you waiting for? Get inside."

Something was up, but I sure as hell couldn't let him know that I was uneasy. "Ohhhhkay, if you say so Grumpy." And with that, I hopped my way through the rubble and into the next hall.

* * *

Please review. I like reviews. They're like the key chains on those Keyblades; it just feels good to have a bunch of them.

Also, I know it's short, but I intend to have the next chapter up in a few hours, if not by tomorrow. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2: Questions,Questions,Questions

Chapter 2: Questions, Questions, Questions…

* * *

Axel's PoV

I won't beat around the bush; the meeting room was a wreck. The thrones, which always drove me nuts with their constant growing and shrinking, were jammed in neutral, making everyone strain their necks to see those above or below. Down here on the ground, I could barely make my way through all the boulders and rubble to get to my seat; seems Saix and I weren't the only one who had trouble getting inside.

"You are late, Axel. Not wise, considering what we are here to discuss."

"Yeah, yeah, your lapdog already gave me the ring around, Xemnas." I stopped at the closest empty seat, brought my chakrams out and blasted downward, an act which sent me flying up and into the chair. Once I got situated, I looked around; everyone was here. Everyone was here…

"Wait, what the hell! Marluxia, Vexen, Larxene?" Those three and everyone else we lost in Castle Oblivion were sitting in chairs too, waiting around like I was the one out of place! "How are they…They should be…I saw them—"

"Heheh. Boy, the nothing stuff really did a number on his, huh Xemy?" That smug bastard Xigbar kept that arrogant smile on his face as he sat just below me, watching me generally take about two dozen double-takes. Saix, who took the second highest chair (next to Xemnas, of course), just scoffed at me and looked up at the Superior.

"It is understandable, Number II. We have all undergone a great strain." Xemnas rose from his throne and walked out into the empty space in the center of the room. As always, he radiated this…power that managed to make any side conversations subside. "Many of you do not remember the events leading to your personal…demises; the void we all entered upon our deaths tried to eat away at our individuality. However, as you can see, that was not to be our final fate. My power over nothingness allowed me to retain my mind inside its confines, and it is thanks to my power that we have managed to return to the realms of light and darkness. In fact, I have managed to do much more…"

In a motion that created audible gasps from the seats below me, Xemnas pulled back his left sleeve, exposing the vulnerable skin underneath. He then raised his right hand in another one of his idiotic, grandiose gestures…and delicately placed two fingers against his wrist, just below his glove-covered palm. "Check your pulses, everyone."

Check our pulses? Xemnas was losing it: no heart, no pulse. Everyone knows that. Still, better to humor a guy like that than risk "displeasing" him, right? I placed my fingers to my wrist—and nearly fell out of my seat. Right there, for the half-second my fingers were against my skin, there was a beat. I couldn't believe it; I had a pulse. I took a closer look, and I could see that the color had come back into my skin, and the previously nonexistent veins had returned like pale blue lines underneath.

Lexaeus was the first to react, looking up to Xemnas with a confused look. Zexion was in the chair next to him, looking scared as hell, and Lexaeus reached over to pat his hand before speaking. "Xemnas…does this mean what I think it means?"

"Yes. We have hearts now, new hearts. Hearts which are will give us the power to destroy those who have wronged us. Now, I understand the adjustment will be—"

But before he could say anything else, several things happened at once. All I could do was watch as Larxene catapulted up toward Xemnas, knives in hand, only to be smacked straight down into the floor by Saix's claymore. Marluxia jumped down to defend her, placing his scythe between her and the seething Berserker above while Xemnas just smiled with sadistic relish.

"Ahh, I was wondering how long it would take you two to get yourselves into trouble again. I suppose it's too much to ask that you've learned your lessons?"

Larxene was still on the ground, collapsed in a weeping heap. Her head whipped up to look at Xemnas as her eyes overflowed with a mix of pain and unbridled rage. "Why? Why did you do this to me? Do you have any idea what life was like for me before I lost my heart? You've ruined me!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" There was a blast of yellow light, and suddenly the room went very quiet. We were all transfixed with fear as Xemnas descended to Larxene, brushing Marluxia aside with a simple gesture. He grabbed the Savage Nymph by the arm and forced her to her feet, looking her dead in the eye as she whimpered wordlessly. A single yellow spark traveled from his eye into hers, and she looked away as it made contact, biting her lip as tears now traveled freely down her face. "Now, my little spark spewer, we won't be revolting anytime soon. Will we?"

"N-No, Superior. We won't."

He let her go, smiling cruelly as she ran into Marluxia's arms. "Good. Now, if no one has anything else to say on the subject…"

It was then that I thought to speak up. It had taken me a bit, but I realized something important: Roxas. He was missing. "Hey, what about the pip squeak? Number XIII? Where'd he go?" Don't get me wrong, I was scared stiff by the little power play that had just gone down. But c'mon, I couldn't let him know that, could I?

He turned his back to me, completely dismissive of the subject. "You don't remember? The boy deserted us. He is of no matter to us anymore. Now, all are dismissed; we start work again tomorrow." And with that, he walked out through one of the many holes in the wall and out of sight.

* * *

After Larxene calmed down enough to walk on her own, the rest of us spilled out to the halls, most of us heading to our private work rooms. I for one felt completely at a loss as to what to do next; Roxas had been the center of most of my leisure time for so long, I just felt kinda lost and empty without him. Still, I figured the best I could do was head out to one of the training rooms, blow off some steam by taking out a few Dusks, get my mind off of Roxas being gone…when I felt a tug on my right sleeve.

"Uh…Axel?"

I looked over my shoulder, and Zexion was standing behind me awkwardly. He was about my height, but he was slouching a bit: cowering even, so that he looked about half a head shorter than me. As soon as he caught my eye, he looked up at the ceiling and rubbed the back of his neck, trying his best to look confident despite all the blatant evidence that proved otherwise. In a word, he was a wreck, a nervous, fidgety wreck. "Yeah?"

"Um, I just, uh…I just wanted to say, it was really, y'know, really cool of you to ask about Roxas. I'd uh, I'd been wondering the same, I just…I was too scared to ask, I mean, with Larxene and everything…" He looked down at his feet and put his hands behind his back, as if he were embarrassed with himself. I wasn't really sure what to say; in all the time I'd known Zexion, he and I had said maybe two words to each other? And both of those words had been him showing off some long, condescending string of insults that I didn't understand before he went back to whatever book he was reading. This…this was just too freaky.

"Uh…thanks, Zexion. But you don't have to be afraid of him, y'know. Xemnas talks all tough and stuff, but he's not that strong; either one of us could probably take him out."

He looked up at me with a small smile on his face, and he actually…blushed. "Really? You think I could?"

"Uh, yeah, sure…" I was about to make an excuse to leave—and smack my head against the wall for an hour to make sure I hadn't gone absolutely insane—when I saw Lexaeus coming down the hall. "Hey, there's Lexaeus. You two are friends, right?"

Zexion spun around—literally, he pivoted on one foot—and jumped at the sight of Lexaeus. "Oh yeah! He's probably looking for me, I gotta go!" He sped off to reach him, right arm waving wildly, when suddenly he stopped and ran back to me. He didn't stop either, not until his face was right up next to mine; I had to take a step back to keep him from knocking into me. "Hey! Did you see that flash of yellow stuff? Lexaeus said I was lying, that he didn't see anything, but I know I did!"

Ok, this guy was really starting to tick me off. Hadn't he ever heard of personal…wait, yellow? "…Yeah, I saw it too." He backed up just a bit, beaming. "Do you know what it is, Zexion?"

He just shook his head. "Nuh-uh. I was gonna look it up later. But thanks for backing me up. Hey, Lexaeus!" He started off down the hall, this time making it all the way to the impatient Lexaeus. The two of them started walking together, and they were just about to turn a corner when Zexion looked back and waved at me. "Bye Axel! I'll let you know if I find anything, ok?"

"Oh…Okay, then. See you then." I gave them a weak salute as they disappeared down the corridor. As soon as I could tell I was alone, I leaned up against the nearest wall, and closed my eyes, trying my best to make sense of the major brain explosion the Schemer had just given me. "Ohhhhh man…" Forget the training; I was going to find the nearest Moogle shop, buy up every Elixir they had, and try my best to forget everything that had just happened. All I could think was, what the hell is wrong with everybody…

* * *

Ohhh, God. As much as I love writing, there are some characters that just find a way to melt my brain. This is a prime example. And yes, I know that this may seem out of character for Zexion, but bear with me, I know where I'm going.

Please review. Reviews to me are like Saturday Night Live: They're a fun way to get through a long night, and they're always full of great one liners.


	3. Chapter 3: Manipulations

Ok, I usually jump around on PoVs in my stories, but from here on out I think I'm going to tell this story all from Axel's perspective. Just in case there is any confusion.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3: Manipulations

That next morning, I swear to God, it was the beginning of my own personal hell. Some time in the night, while I was asleep, someone had installed some big fancy intercom system all through the castle—just to blast some crazy fog horn to get me up at the crack of dawn! I practically fell out of bed once that thing stared blaring, and it just went on for five freakin' minutes before Saix's voice came in.

"Sorry for the intrusive awakening, everyone. Due to our current state of existence, we must ration out our Corridors of Darkness to prevent any undue heart corruption. As such, we must move out to our assignments earlier to compensate for lost time. Numbers IV, V, VI, VIII, and X, please report to the Altar immediately. All other numbers are free to train as they please, but are asked to remain within the castle. That is all."

"Ugh, stupid Saix…" I didn't have much of a choice at that point; I got out of bed, mussed my hair up to its usual spikiness, pulled on my coat, and walked out into the hall. It was empty, as usual, and I sighed as I began the long trek up to the Altar—on the top floor. Man I miss the portals…

* * *

"Ahh, Axel, my little Flurry of Dancing Flames. Having a difficult time dancing our way to the top floor, are we?"

Ugh, not him. I'd gotten lost—of course—in all these winding hallways, when who should show up but that annoying, pompous gambler, Luxord. I turned a corner, and there he was, leaning up against a wall while throwing some dice up in the air. He had this stupid grin on his face, that holier-than-thou, I-know-something-you-don't grin he always had when someone made a misstep. Any other day, I would've chatted him up as usual, maybe even set up a game for later, but not today. I had too much on my mind, and I didn't need his lofty mind games.

"Morning, Luxord. Yeah, I'm having trouble, mind givin' a guy a hand? I'd rather be on time today, if you don't mind."

At that he just smirked and caught the dice in his hands, focusing his eyes more on them than me as they rolled around with every tip of the hand. "Oh, I don't see the need for you to make such a venture. After all, time isn't much of an issue to bother with; it flows constantly, regardless of what people do." He tipped his hand toward me, letting the dice fall to the ground. At least, they would've fallen to the ground—if they hadn't stopped in midair, completely motionless and fixed in place. "That is, except for me."

A shiver went up my spine as I looked at the dice; Lux's time-stops always did that to me, they just never felt natural. Still, I tried my best to hide my anxiety, and said, "Whatever, Luxord, you bend time, we get it. Now all I really wanna do is get upstairs, so if you don't mind—"

"Oh, but I do mind. I mind because, you see, I'd rather be minding your mind." God, his wordplays always gave me the creeps. He was almost as bad as that cat I ran into once. "Your mind isn't on what's upstairs in the castle, but rather what's outside of it, isn't it? That boy, Number XIII…you wish to know where he is." My heart skipped a beat at the mention of Roxas, and his smile turned cruelly and malicious in response; he was trying to push my buttons, and damn if it wasn't working. "Now, I wonder who could posses that information? The person who did, he certainly would have a very large chip in the pot, wouldn't you say?"

Luxord was toying with me, I knew that, but if he knew something about Roxas…I flexed my fingers and brought out the chakrams, intent on getting some answers. "What do you know, Luxord? And what do you want? C'mon, you wouldn't be playing these games if there wasn't something in it for you."

At that, he merely stepped back, so that the dice were between him and me, and raised his arms slowly, in a grand gesture. "What do I want? I want a game for the sake of a game; something to pass the time in this wearisome old fortress. And if I'm to play the game I want, I surely mustn't show my hand—certainly not to you. No, I think…" He snapped his fingers, and time snapped back into place; the dice fell to the ground, growing to the size of large beach balls. "I think I'll save this card for a rainy day." He then jumped up so that he was floating above the dice and spun so his back was to me, taking off with the dice rolling just beneath him.

"Oh, hell no…" No way was he getting off that easy. I broke into a sprint and chased after him, chakrams scorching the hall behind me. "GET BACK HERE!"

For what seemed like ages, I chased after the Brit bastard all through the castle. Every time I got close enough to throw a chakram, he managed to turn a corner on a dime and avoid the hit. Each miss just pissed me off even more, and I never stopped running after him. The whole time, he just kept laughing at me, a sadistic, pitiless laugh that echoed through the entire building and burned a hole in my stomach. I could not wait to nab him, to just catch his arrogant ass and torch him, watch him burn to a crisp as he and everything around him burned—

"Axel!"

* * *

The sound of my name was enough to shock me back to reality, and as the red and the flames receded from my vision, I realized I wasn't inside anymore. I was outside, at the Altar, with only the dark, starless sky for a roof above me. I looked around to find that everyone was here—staring at me. Vexen and Lexaeus were comforting Zexion, who was burying his face in Lexaeus' chest to hide his fear. Saix was attending to Xemnas in the center of the altar…and Luxord was leaning over the edge of the altar, shuffling through his cards as if nothing had happened.

"Something wrong, Axel? You look a few cards short of a deck."

This, I couldn't let slide. I marched straight over to him and grabbed him by his coat, shaking him silly until Saix came to pull me off of him. Luxord just laughed at me for trying something against him, while Saix just had a look of total disbelief.

"Axel, that's enough! I don't know what's going on between you two, but you'd better learn to put it aside for today's mission."

"What? There's no way I'm going on a mission with that slime—"

"Well you'll have to." Saix then turned and walked back to Xemnas' side, facing out to all of us. "In fact, you will all have to go on your missions: no trading missions, no trading partners. Lexaeus, you are to take a Gummi Ship to Radiant Garden, and establish a stronghold in one of the castles there. Our intel from Demyx suggests that Maleficent has been eliminated, so it should just be a matter of clearing out any stray Heartless." Lexaeus glared at him, wordlessly stating his disapproval, but Saix wasn't fazed. "No need for the evil eye, Lexaeus; Zexion will be well cared for under Vexen's eye." Vexen motioned for Zexion to come to him, which he did after a moment of hesitation. "Vexen, you are to brief Zexion on our new project and have him assist you in your research. If he gives you any problems, you are to report him to Xemnas.

"And you two," he hissed at me and Luxord, "are to examine the city below us and report back on any non-Heartless entities. We must secure our home world if we are to expand beyond it. That is all. Now move out."

* * *

Oooooh, I love writing these manipulative types. What does that say about me though, heheh…?

Please review. Reviews to me are like Forrest Gump; other people may think they sound like the stupidest things on earth sometimes, but even the stupid sounding ones really do teach us a lot. Thanks.


	4. Chapter 4: Facades and Illusions

Ok, I know I said before that I was going to tell this story entirely from Axel's perspective, but I just had some amazing ideas today, so I'm going to expand beyond just Axel. Still, I'll try and keep the "jumping" as limited as possible, so I hope it doesn't interfere too much.

* * *

Chapter 4: Facades and Illusions

Axel's PoV

We moved out all right; as soon as Luxord got Saix's say-so, he scooped me up with one of his giant cards of his and sent us both flying down to the streets below. Literally, one minute I'm standing with Saix, the next minute I'm on my back, holding on to the edges of that huge board for dear life as I tried to keep my brand new heart from flying up and out of my throat. Of course, Luxord was having the time of his life, laughing as he rode the thing surfboard-style like there was no tomorrow. Not that that was the case; with his powers, tomorrow was something he'd probably never see unless he was good and ready for it anyway.

Whatever his reasons for the rough ride, Luxord did make up for it; he brought the card down to the ground slowly, lessening the angle of descent like he was bringing an airplane down on the runway. Once we got to a stop, I managed to clamber up to my feet, gasping for breath, and reach over to the nearest wall for support. My chest…it felt like it was just about to explode. I breathed in, and out, and in and out…and gradually, very gradually, it went back down to its resting state. I collapsed against the wall, looking up at the sky as I slid down the smooth surface of a store window. What the hell was wrong with me? I was Number VIII of the Organization, I didn't get winded by something small like this…

"Still getting used to that heart, aren't you mate?"

Luxord was standing above me, that smirk finally wiped off his face. Instead, he had plastered on the cold, passive look from our heartless days, though it was doing little to hide his current, relatively-emotional state. I merely gave him a spitting glare as he towered above me.

"Oh yeah? And how about you, huh? I guess your heart isn't giving you nearly as much trouble."

I expected him to snicker or something, to express some sort of contempt for me. Instead, he only sighed…and brought his hand up to cover his face. The emotionless façade we'd all learned to put up out of sheer habit, the icy demeanor that came with our heartless nature…all of it melted out of Luxord's body in that one fluid motion and was replaced with the appearance of a man with a large, heavy burden on is shoulders. "I've had plenty of time to adjust, which I…certainly can't say for you. Now stand up."

After a few extra gasps, I got up the strength to climb back up on my feet and face Luxord. He dropped his hand, revealing the face of a deeply troubled man if nothing else, and placed his hand over my heart. Under normal circumstances, I'd have pushed him away and roasted his hand for all the help I wanted, but now…I wasn't entirely sure. To see Luxord, the overly confident gambler who'd throw it all away for a shot at the big time, seem so vulnerable…it all felt so surreal.

"Our hearts are too new; they aren't used to the strenuous activity we partake in on a regular basis." As Luxord spoke, a soft, grey, aura-like glow began to appear around his hand: a glow that began to spill over into my chest. "My power over time allowed me to…circumvent this fault by aging my own heart until it had toughed enough to endure the strain. Now, to ensure your continued existence…" The glow faded from my chest and his hand, and he stepped back to look at me. "…I have done the same for you."

True to form, Luxord had delivered; my heart had slowed down, and for the first time since getting the thing, I felt completely in control of it. I peeled myself away from the wall, and it was like I was a new man; I felt invigorated, like I could scale the castle without breaking a sweat. And to think that Luxord was the one to do this for me…I did know what to say. "I…Thanks, Luxord."

"It's nothing at all. Don't mention it." He turned away from me, choosing instead to look up at the large hotel we'd stopped by on our little descent. It was like he was in a trance; his words, while as lofty as ever, sounded darker, as if he wasn't completely sure of his standing. "I…apologize for toying with you earlier. It's true, you know; these hearts are giving all of us trouble."

That, I found hard to believe. Some of us, sure, I could see where some problems were popping up, but Xigbar? Lexaeus? No way. Still, the mood Luxord was in, I didn't wanna do anything to upset him, so I tried my best to tiptoe around the question. Well, I tried anyway; in case you haven't noticed, I'm not one for subtlety. "Trouble? I haven't had that much, but…are the others…?" Like I said, real subtle.

"Hm. You obviously haven't checked on Larxene since her scene at the last meeting. She hasn't even left her bed." Slowly, with the graceful yet solemn pace of a man visiting a loved one's grave, Luxord walked up the stairs to the hotel's front door, tracing the glassy surface with his fingers. I followed him about halfway up the stairs, giving him plenty of space. "She looked back on who she was, what she had done…and her heart simply couldn't take it." He turned back to me, an almost pleading, painful expression on his face. "Why? Why did Xemnas do this to us? We've hidden behind masks and motifs and powers for so long…how could he expect us to cope?"

Of course. This explained everything. All that pomp and bravado…Luxord wasn't toy with me out of spite; his manipulative games were just him acting out. The gambler's hand was full of wild cards now, and he was afraid to face it. "Luxord…we were different back then. Without our hearts, how could we have expected to do everything right? Hell we'll probably screw up even more with the damn things."

"Then…you have no regrets? Looking back, you feel no guilt, or remorse?"

That, I had to think about for a few moments. All things considered, the people I've hurt, the connections I've made…In the end I just told him, "Look, did I get everything right? No. If given the chance, would I have gone about things differently? Maybe. But in the end, I'd like to think that there are people who think that I'm not so bad. And no matter what, I'm here, now, alive. I don't know about you, but I intend to make the best of that."

Luxord looked back to the hotel doors and a yearning seemed to enter his voice. "I suppose you're right…and yet, I can't help but think that we aren't supposed to have these hearts. That we were meant to be like this: out in the cold, looking in on a warm light that we just…can't reach…"

I understood where he was coming from, I really did; after Roxas left the first time, I felt like that for the longest time, like I didn't deserve anything good in my life. So, I did the only thing I could think of to cheer him up; I strode past him, flung the front door wide open, and said the honest truth the only way I could:

"Y'know what? Screw that, I hate the cold. I'd rather be warm, wouldn't you?"

Luxord was completely taken aback at first, surprised at the light and heat spilling out unto us. Once he adjusted though, he shook his head and stepped forward to go inside. "Axel, you are either the most damaged person in the whole Organization…or the most put together of us. Thank you."

At that moment, the worst possible thing happened. The minute my foot crossed the threshold, a loud "fwoosh" sounded behind me. I turned around to find an army of about a dozen Dusks appearing at the bottom of the hotel stairs, staring at us and the bright light.

"Nobodies. Should we be worried?"

Luxord raised his right hand into the air, calling forth about five or so of his trademark cards. "My guess? Definitely. We aren't Nobodies anymore; they may not recognize our scents." He looked over his shoulder at me, that cocky grin back on his face. Now though, the smile seemed genuine, as if he really were looking forward to what was coming. "So? Ready to kill some time?"

I smiled back at him and brought out my chakrams, as gung-ho for the fight as ever. "Luxy, I'm always ready to knock some Dusk heads around. Got it memorized?"

* * *

Zexion's PoV

"Hey, Vexen, can I take a look at soma those?"

Vexen got really strict about his labs after we all came back. He used to walk me through everything he was doing: his "nothingness container" experiments, the Replica pods, the distilled memory cards…nowadays, the Meany just threw me in a corner with a few books while he looked at all of the fun stuff.

"I'm sorry, Zexion, but you know I'm not allowed to. Xemnas' orders, remember?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry…" I tried to go back to my book—_The Virtues of Light_, by Master Eraqus—but…ugh, I just couldn't stand not knowing! Plus, Vexen had already told me that the current experiment was top priority for Xemnas, so maybe it had something to do with that flash of yellow light from yesterday's meeting. I promised Axel I'd find out what it was, and I couldn't break a promise! "Vexennnnnn! Pleeeeeease?" I had been sitting on the ground with all my books sprawled out, so I reached over and started tugging at his cloak, almost pulling it off. You should've seen him jump!

"Zexion! I told you, don't disturb me while I'm working!"

He spun around to look at me, enraged…and finally showed me what he was working on. The dummy, he forgot to hide his equipment when I came over, and now that he had turned around I could see what was in those vials: a bunch of gases in a lot of pretty colors. The yellow gases actually looked a lot like the stuff Xemnas used…

"Zexion! Pay attention!"

I shook myself out of the daze I got looking at those pretty colors, instead looking up at the scowl on Vexen's face. Uh-oh; he was really mad. "Xemnas wanted you to join me so I could look over your research while working, but I cannot do both if you continue to instigate this sort of reaction from me!"

Yeah, he was really mad. Nothing I could do now except Plan B: the crying. It was pretty easy; I just had to pinch my leg really hard, and next thing I knew, Vexen's expression had softened as he leaned down to wipe away my tears. Heh, sucker. "Oh…oh Zexion, please don't cry. You know I'd never hurt you intentionally. I just…" He then plastered on that goofy smile—the one people always use when they want to placate me—and said, "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you go to the library across the hall? There are a whole bunch of books over there, and you can just read to your heart's content. Ok?"

Ugh. That tone of voice really bugs me. But, I was a kid again, so I had to play along. So I put the same fake grin on my face and shouted, "Yeah! Let's go!", and ran out of the room, Vexen trailing behind.

* * *

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that I don't have to pretend to be an adult like the others anymore; trust me, kid hearts get to feel a lot more than these stuffy guys seem to let themselves feel. I just don't get why everyone thinks that makes me some drooling idiot now! Granted, the underestimating does have its perks; it got me a glimpse of Vexen's experiment, and now it was getting me into my favorite room in the whole castle.

"Alright Zexion, here we are. Do you want me to get anything out for you? Maybe show you where the children's section is?"

I merely looked up at him—yes, up; I'm learning to hide it, but my return cut about a foot off my height—and smiled. "Nah, I think I can find it."

"Good, good. Now I have to get back to work. You have fun!" He turned to leave, and as I walked toward the kiddy books I heard him whisper, "Such a waste", before going out into the hall.

"Oh, I'm the waste. Little sycophant…" Ok, Vexen was out of the way; time to get to work. Based on the gas-filled vials I saw Vexen holding, it looks like this experiment of theirs could be related to a book I found once. I went to the back of the library, in the reference section where only I ever go browsing, and lifted the illusion on the corner of the room, revealing a little corridor full of entire bookshelves I had hidden away when I first moved into the castle. Hey, I like my books, and besides with these kinds of people, you need all the information you can get.

"Now let's see, where are you…?" I moved up and down the rows, reminiscing about all the stories held in there pages. _The Truth about Namine_, _The Birth of Darkness_, _The Science of Hearts_…until finally, I found one old, beaten up hardback book, sitting all alone towards the back. "There you are, buddy. I've missed you…" I lifted the old tome off of the shelf and waved away all the dust on its cover until I could read the title. Considering everything that had happened, I should've thought of this sooner.

"_Emotions and their Unversed Ways_. By Master Xehanort. It's been far too long…"

* * *

And there you have it. Told you I knew what I was doing with Zexion. :)

Still, as I said before, it's a bit of a stretch considering Zexion's appearances in the games. If you have any comments as to how I can shape this into something that'll work while still being in canon, please let me know in a review.

Again, please review. Reviews to me are like Charlie Harper to Two and A Half Men; you may not always agree with what they're saying, but every now and then they say something profound enough to turn things in the right direction. :)


	5. Chapter 5: Old Friends, Old Books

Hello again! Just so you all know, I'm on "vacation" with my younger sister, so odds are I'm probably going to be updating a lot more in the next few days. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5: Old Friends, Old Books

Axel's PoV

Let me tell you something that the other Organization guys don't want you to know: Those Dusks? Wimps. Sure, they're all contortionists and they treat the laws of gravity as guidelines, but they really don't have much more going for them. Even if you're out-numbered ten to one, as long as you go in hard and fast, they aren't really much of a problem.

Luxord certainly shared my beliefs on the subject. As soon as we dove into the fray, with all of the Dusks scrambling out of formation, it became almost like a contest as to who could take more of them down. We were having the time of our lives, slashing through the thin, sinewy bodies: him with his cards, me with my chakrams.

"Quite the time, eh Axel?" Luxord cried out as he sliced a Dusk clean in half. I didn't get much of a chance to watch him in action—I had plenty of my own Nobodies to roast—but from what I could tell Luxord's fighting style wasn't all that different from mine. As his cards grew to the size of large planks, he spun and twirled them around his hands, dispatching any nearby Dusks in a single attack. If anything, he probably had an advantage on me; I only had the two chakrams, while in theory he had an entire deck of cards at his disposal.

"Eh, not too shabby. Not my idea of a real workout, but still…" I caught a Dusk out of the corner of my eye, spun around, and torched the thing. It was an easy trick, the first one I had ever learned as a Nobody; all I had to do was spin one of my wheels fast enough to make some fire, and shoot the flame straight into the target. This particular target, Dusk-number-eight on my tally for the fight, was incinerated on impact, and the ball of flame exploded to take out Dusks nine-ten-and-eleven. I smirked a bit before jumping to the next Dusk; yeah, Luxord had the cards, but I had an entire class of energy on my side; thermal energy. And oh, how useful it was. "So what's your count, Lux?"

"I wasn't aware—that we were—keeping score!" I dispatched the last Dusk near me and turned to check up on the guy. Turns out these Dusks were smarter than we thought; they'd realized that my flames were too much for them, and they had chosen instead to divert their efforts to an easier target. Meaning that Luxord was having a time of it as he tried to swat away about twenty Dusks at once. Most of his efforts were pure reflexes as he dodged each of their twisting limbs. "I don't suppose—you'd be willing to—lend a hand? Spare some time—perhaps?"

Well I couldn't just leave him in there, now could I? Not after our little heart-to-heart before. I prepared to jump in, maybe see how many ways there were to scorch a Dusk—when suddenly everything stopped. All at once, the Dusks had returned to their formation with Luxord at the center, huddling together. At first I couldn't tell why…until, in a flash of light, a Dusk was vaporized by a single beam of energy. The other Dusks immediately went into a frenzy, trying to worm away in all directions, but it was no use; one by one, they were disintegrated by flashing beams of light that came down from above.

"What the hell…?" I looked to Luxord for answers, and he simply pointed upward with a vacant, utterly shocked expression on his face.

"It…It's him. Look, up on the roof."

I looked up—and my jaw dropped. There, standing right on the edge of the roof top with a giant screen illuminating him from behind, was none other than Number XIII. The Keyblade's chosen one. Roxas.

Or…at least, it looked like him. The figure, whoever it was, was garbed in one of the Organization's coats, and the hood obscured his face. I tried to keep myself from getting my hopes up—we'd had Organization imposters before—but…no, it had to be him; he had Roxas' Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, in each of his hands. The Oathkeeper was still giving off fumes from the light beams, for God's sake; it had to be him.

I wanted to run right up the side of the building and hug him, make sure that it was real and not some cruel trick, but I couldn't. It all felt like some weird dream; my limbs were heavy, like all the effort in the world couldn't get me to run. I managed to take a step towards the hotel doors, and immediately the figure jumped from the roof, thankfully landing safely across the square. He looked back at me for a second, then ran off down the alleyway and out of sight.

"Go." I turned to see what Luxord meant, and he just put a hand on my shoulder to reassure me. "I remember how close you two were before. Time may have passed, but if you go after him, the odds are in your favor. Just give it a go—and let me know how it goes." As he said that, five Dusks appeared in front of us, and he held his cards in front of my face in response. "Besides, it looks like I've still got a game to play. Now go!" And without another word, he jumped back into the fray, laughing with each blow.

Well, that just about said it. Luxord could take care of the mission on his own, and Roxas needed me; it couldn't get any clearer than that. I sent the chakrams away and ran like hell after Roxas. I'd lost him before, there wasn't a chance in hell that I was gonna let that happen again.

* * *

Zexion's PoV

_I have decided to put aside a separate set of notes—this set of notes—because of some unexpected developments with my new pupil: Vanitas, the darkness to my last pupil's light._

"'Separate set', huh? I'll have to see if I can find a copy of the first set sometime…"

Once I reset all the illusions on my section of the library, I took the emotions book out to the main room and sat down at the table Vexen had set up for me. I have to admit, as much of a drag he can be sometimes, he does have my best interests at heart. The table was set right in the center of the library, making it accessible from any section of the library and giving it the perfect lighting for reading. Oh, and the chair…it was soft and plushy, but it still offered enough support so I didn't feel the need to fall asleep. I swear, I could sit there forever and just…float away, to wherever the books took me…

Ahem. Sorry, I get a little carried away sometimes. Anyway, I was reading through Xehanort's book, and already I was starting to get an idea as to how it might help. According to first few chapters, he discovered that the emotions of that Vanitas guy assumed form in the physical realm in the guise of an entirely different breed: Unversed, he called them.

_These creatures, while dubious in nature, appear to operate purely on instinct. However, there do seem to be some semblances of higher thought functions; the smaller ones—I believe Vanitas calls them Floods—have a tendency to develop personal aversions to different factors in their lives. For example, the Flood that Vanitas keeps in his personal quarters will go into fits upon exposure to natural light—despite the fact that it has no adverse effect on its kind, nor have any other Unversed expressed a disliking for it._

_Their semi-formed personalities are not the only traits of note though. If one is harmed to the point of disintegration, my pupil can call its essence back into him in the form of a raw sort of energy. While he generally uses this energy to create more Unversed, I have recently requested that he hold some of it back for me to study, the results of which have born interesting results__ (see page 112)__._

"Dammit, enough with the footnotes…" That's the only thing I hate about these scientific journal types; they have all these footnotes and anecdotes and graphs…it just sucks all the fun out of the reading. If I ever publish something, I'm definitely leaving those things out; all they do is break up the flow of the book, turn the story into cold facts. And believe me, I've spent way too much time dealing with cold facts to let those yucky things slow me down.

Still, if I wanted to find out what the Superior was up to, I had no choice. I started paging over to the back of the book to find page one hundred and twelve—when I heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"Zexion? Are you alright in there? You're being awfully quiet…"

Oh no. Nononononono! Vexen! He was coming to check on me—which he never does when he's working, by the way—and I…I couldn't let him find the book, not when I was so close to finding out the truth! I jumped up and darted around the room, trying to think of something resembling a plausible plan. I couldn't hide in the bookshelves—Vexen would just come to find me. I couldn't go back to my personal section—I wouldn't have the time to set up the illusion again before he found me. That only left…

"Zexion! There you are! What's that book you're holding?"

* * *

OHHHHHH MY LORD. Zexion sure is in a pickle, isn't he? Keep reading to find out: will he hide in time, or will his unauthorized research be exposed? Find out—on the next "Nothing, Nobody, No Matter"!

Please review. Reviews to me are like hotels to Monopoly; they make the overall effort soooo much more worth it.


	6. Chapter 6: Colors

Hi! Ok, I'm adding a few more characters in the next few chapters, kinda spur of the moment, because I've been at the beach the past few days and it's given me a load of new ideas. Let me know if you think any of them pan out in your eyes!

* * *

Chapter 6: Colors

Vexen' PoV

"Zexion! There you are! What's that book you're holding?" Zexion jumped up from his seat the second he heard my voice, holding the book close to his chest like some idiotic school girl. The poor boy…receiving a heart so late after the conclusion of his mental development obviously destroyed his mind. Once, he was my prized pupil, one I considered to be an equal and confidant in my work; now, he was nothing more than a distraction. "Come now; tell me what it is…"

"Uhhhh, I don't think you'll want to see it, Vexen."

"Oh, come now, you can trust me. Now let me see it…" I strode up and took a grip on the book's spine, but he clutched it closer to his chest. It took both hands and a great deal of struggling, but I managed to wrestle the thing out of his hands, which resulted in his usual burst of tears.

"Vexennnnnn, it's mine!"

"Zexion, I am your superior Organization member; you should not be withholding things from…" I looked down at the title, and I think my heart sank down to at least my feet. It couldn't be; he couldn't have lost so much of himself… "…me. Zexion…is this what I think it is?"

He snatched the bright orange book out of my hands as I stood there, my mind unable to comprehend the horror it had just witnessed. "It's just Green Eggs and Ham, Vexen. It's my very favorite book. Why?"

* * *

Zexion's PoV

"It's my very favorite book. Why?"

I watched from below the table as Vexen sputtered like a buffoon at the sight of my book. I'd been working on my illusion casting for some time now; I personally count making a fully functional copy of myself as a personal triumph. The book part of it, on the other hand, wasn't so much a triumph as it was a very satisfying prank. What can I say, the man already thinks I'm an imbecile; might as well play it to my advantage.

See, what people don't seem to get is that I'm a lot more powerful than my visible power set reveals. Yes, I am an illusionist; everyone knows that, but what people don't realize is that the illusions stem from my true power: books. Books have been my friends since before I was a Nobody, and once I made the change they opened all of my secrets to me. I have absolute power over them; I can enter the worlds they hold within their pages, and from those pages I can pull whatever I want into the real world as an "illusion". I found that part of it a bit limiting at first; I could only create whatever was in whatever book I could open at the time. Recently though, I found a way around that; I carry with me a journal of my life, the Book of Retribution, that I can write whatever I want into it.

So, when Vexen started calling for me, it took me only a second to figure out what to do. I pulled Retribution out from inside my coat, scrawled "Innocent me with Green Eggs and Ham"—and presto, I had a carbon copy of me, holding the orange children's book. I then stuffed Retribution back into my coat, threw the Emotion book I'd been reading under the table, and jumped into its safe confines.

That's where I was now: hiding within the pages of the book, looking out at the scene above. Thankfully, I didn't have to pull the strings on my little puppet for too long. Vexen didn't even bother trying to reason with illusion-me before storming off to his lab. Funny…I could swear I almost heard him…crying down the hall.

No…No matter. I wasn't his dutiful pupil anymore; I had a heart again, and with that I had my own desires. I was a kid again, dammit, and I fully intended to live like one—as soon as I knew what Xemnas was up to. Once I knew all his secrets, then I'd be safe to leave. And he would never pull me back into this cold castle again.

So, reading the old fashioned way wasn't going to cut it; looks like I was going to have to go with Plan B. Once I made sure my illusion-me was dispersed, I turned away from the world outside and dove in. All I had to do was relax, let myself go…and there I was.

* * *

The world inside is different for every book; this one was no exception. I opened my eyes and found myself in a world full of all sorts of different colors, flying around me like a tornado of power. Ok, so I was in; the next step was to listen, and let the words in the book come to me. And they did.

_Recently, my pupil has agreed to hold back some of the power his Unversed minions give off in death. I have been studying it for weeks now, with curious results._

As the words of Xehanort entered my mind, two of the colors swirling around me—yellow and red—exited the torrent, joining me in the center of all the chaos. The two compressed into an orb of light, twisting about each other relentlessly.

_What I found was this: while the energy that resulted could be turned into another Unversed…_

The colors took the form of a small, blue creature for an instant before expanding back to its previous form.

_It could also remain in its energy form, where it can be used for just about anything. Specifically, the yellow could create solid shapes…_

The yellow split from the red, shifting to form a sphere, a cube, a pyramid…

…_or, if infused within a living heart, instill great fear. The red, however, was far less malleable. It became corrosive and uncontrollable, infecting others with a murderous rage._

The red, now independent of the yellow, became a liquid sort of poison, lashing out at me and just barely missing its mark.

_If my assumptions on the subject are correct, then these may not be the only powers they hold. In fact, if Vanitas is capable of, for all intents and purposes, distilling fear and rage itself, who is to say other emotions cannot be made useful?_

As if on cue, all of the other colors swirling around me left to join the fray. Green, blue, orange, purple: all of them moved in concert, moving the tornado from around me into a tight circle in front of me. I couldn't believe it; it was like an entire tempest was in front of me. And if what the book was telling me was true, it could all be at my command.

Right then and there, I knew I had to get out, and fast. If I was getting power hungry now, the way this book was going, then I had to avoid being influenced any more by its enticing words. Too much influence, and the book could very well keep me inside forever. Panicked, I shot myself upward, landing on the floor under that table in the library. The book slammed shut behind me, rattling with the power I had unleashed for that short instant. I turned around to look at the thing, still a bit jolted from the whole experience.

"Huh…Huh…Whew. Whatta trip." Carefully, I took the book in my arms and crawled out from under the table, clambering into a nearby chair for a much needed sense of stability. I slammed the book onto the table and just stared at it, half expecting that tornado to come spiraling out of it to swallow me up. How could something as…ephemeral as emotions hold such power? And to think that Xemnas had managed to scare us all with just a flash of the yellow…

"Oh god. Ohgodohgodohgodohgod!" I leaped up from my seat, grabbed the book, and ran like hell down the hall. I needed to tell someone, this was way to big for just me to go up against. If Xemnas could use even one of those colors all by himself, then he could unleash all of that power on us any moment!

I managed to make it back to my room (situated conveniently down the hall from the library), and hide the book under the bed. I couldn't look at the thing; all I could think was, who could I trust with this? Vexen was too close to Xemnas, Lexaeus would just pacify me like always, most of the other members hated me. Who could I turn to…?

"…Axel." Yeah…Axel would help me. I'd already promised to tell him about the yellow stuff, and he didn't seem too freaked out by me earlier. Plus, even when we were Nobodies, he was always nicer than most of us; it was like he could feel even back then. Yeah, I'd tell him; after everything that had happened, he was the only person I could really trust.

* * *

Axel's PoV

"Roxas, wait!"

I ran like hell trying to keep up with him, but it was no use; every time I thought I was gaining on him, he'd turn a corner and disappear. The whole time, I was being chased by Nobodies, Heartless, I don't even know what. They would hunt me down through the alleys and slash at my arms, but I didn't care; I had to see his face, even if just for a moment.

I turned a corner, the latest of what seemed to be an eternity of endless twist and turns…and I finally found him. He'd made a wrong turn, and was now facing a dead end. His head was turned up, as if he was thinking of trying to jump the wall, but I grabbed him by the arm before he could try anything.

"Roxas, it's me, Axel!" Roxas spun around to face me, but I still couldn't see under his hood—it was drawn really tight. Still, even without seeing his face, I could tell he was petrified with fear; his arm felt stiff under my grip, and his stance suggested that his entire body was poised for attack at any moment. "Hey, hey, it's ok. Your memory's probably a bit foggy, I know, but we've all been going through the same thing. Let's go home, and maybe we can…"

But at the mention of the castle, he sprang out of my grasp, grazing my hand with Oblivion. I flinched and grabbed my hand—those damn keys always packed a punch—as Roxas spun around to face me, his back against the wall and both keys pointed at me, ready to swing.

"Agh. Roxas…" I looked up at him, and for the first time, I noticed something was off. Even when Roxas had been mindwiped, he was always…vocal when he was fighting. If he wasn't chatting about his day in between blows, then he was always yelling and grunting with each swing; it got to the point where I could tell what move he was making just by the tone of his voice. Whoever this guy was, his fighting style was completely different; quick, silent, deadly. He was a trained assassin, not a Keyblade master. "…No. Not Roxas. Right?"

He thrust forward, but I was ready for him this time. I summoned my Eternal Flames to block him and braced myself as his Keyblades jammed into their spokes. With the imposter trapped, I pushed him against the wall, leapt back, and threw my chakram at him like a razor-blade Frisbee. One of the spikes hit him clean in the chest…and a burst of purple light flew out of the wound.

The light hurt, really hurt; it came out with such force that I was blasted straight into the opposite wall. The impact sent a shock up my spine and spots in my eyes, but through the spots I could still see the alley—or at least, what was left of it. The purple light had blown away a huge chunk of ground and walls, but the gaps had already been filled in—with a solid coat of shining purple crystals. On the other side of the crystals, the imposter moved calmly; he pulled my chakram out of his chest—letting it crumble as it crystallized into a fine dust—turned to me, and finally lifted his hood. Underneath that black coat, he'd been hiding something I didn't even know how to process: Roxas' head, copied perfectly, but sculpted entirely out of shining purple crystal. He stretched an arm out to me and said only one thing:

_Save me to save you._

And just like that, he began to crumble away. Starting from the top of his head and working till there was nothing left, his entire body disintegrated into purple dust and flew away, flying en masse back the way we had come in a flurry of sand and wind. It wasn't until all of the dust had disappeared from view that the wind from the blast died down, and I finally fell from the wall.

I tried to get up, but my entire body felt broken. I chuckled bitterly at that; as broken as my body felt, it was nothing compared to how broken I felt inside. I had made it back from what was basically death itself, and for what? So I could lose the only person who I gave a damn about, and gave a damn about me, and so some powers outside of my understanding could dangle that in front of me. For the first time since I came back, I actually wished that I hadn't; I wished that I didn't have a heart. Roxas was gone, God knows where, and I was here, alone, on the ground in some alley with more questions than answers. As I felt myself slipping out of consciousness, the last thing I thought—the last thing I felt—was nothing more than an echo of Luxord's earlier plea. In the end, he was right; why?

* * *

Aww, poor Axel. I hate seeing him like this, but you have to admit, it's a pretty cool picture!

Come to think of it, poor Zexion too. He's had a rough childhood, huh?

Thank you so much to my two new reviewers; you all have no idea how happy I am to know that someone reads this. :) To all, please review. Reviews to me are like coffee to workaholics; they give an extra kick to the day, just enough so as to make for some fuel for some good work.


	7. Chapter 7: Dreams and Plans

Sorry it took so long to update! I've got semester finals coming up, and it's been kinda crazy trying to get ready for it. So…here you go!

* * *

Chapter 7: Dreams and Plans

_I'm standing on the beach, where we used to play. Everything looks the same as always: the never-ending ocean, the warm sand at my feet, the comforting sunset…and yet its not. It all feels…wrong, like I'm not supposed to be here. I look around, and there's a guy in a black coat, on the small island. I move to start running, and suddenly I'm there, looking into his dark hood as he stares into my eyes._

"_Who are you?"_

"_It's a beautiful sunset. I used to see ones like it all the time."_

_Suddenly, it's nighttime. The shadows are rising, clawing at my arms and legs, and I can't fight back. The man is still there, always watching._

"_Give me my Keyblade!"_

"_Yours or mine?"_

_The shadows merge all around me, and suddenly I'm falling. I reach out for the key in his hand as he looks down from above. The key tries to answer my cries, and for a moment it sings its song of light—then crumbles in his hand, torn between two masters._

_I brace myself for the impact, but there is none. I blink, and suddenly I'm in a city. It's dark, and a single building looms in front of me. Its light is warm, but I'm still cold, so unbearably cold._

"_We have to choose. It won't leave us alone until we do."_

_I'm on the roof of the building, and he's standing in front of me, holding his hand out. I want to reach out and take hold, but I can't. I can't move. I'm trapped._

"_He's coming. The first…"_

"_Who? Why?"_

_He steps forward, and the roof cracks, shattering under our weight. We fall together, and I reach out to his hand. He's the one to make contact, and we hold on to one another as the falling stops. A platform appears under us, and we stand up. The floor has a divide; he stands on one side, I stand on the other._

"_Hold on!"_

"_To what?"_

_I look down, and our hands are gone; just a single arm, black sleeve merging with exposed skin. Our arms pull apart, bones screaming as they disconnect and shatter. I scream, but he just calls out to me._

"_We can't give up! You can't lose your shadow, and I can't lose mine! Just don't—"_

_His voice is lost as the platform shatters below us. The darkness swallows us whole, and we're falling…falling…

* * *

_

Sora's PoV

And just like that, the dream was over.

I woke up to the sound of my own screaming. It took me a moment to look around, find out where I was. It was dark, but I wasn't in my room. I fell from my perch, and from the ground I looked up to see what I had been sleeping in. A giant tree, one that grew sideways…

Oh. Oh, good. I was under our tree, on the piece of land just off of our island. Breathing a sigh of relief, I rolled over and did a perfect Dodge Roll, coming up to my feet almost effortlessly. I didn't come out here often at night, but for once I was glad I did; the starry sky paled in comparison only to the huge full moon, which floated just on the edge of the horizon out at sea. I looked out at its light and used it as an anchor, bringing me back to reality as I rubbed the back of my head for reassurance.

"Man, that was the weird dream to end weird dreams…"

_You're telling __me__._

I'm pretty sure I jumped about a mile high when I heard that. Through sheer reflexes, I managed to summon my Kingdom Key, partly thankful to see its familiar shine of light while also partly scared out of my wits. "Who's there? Heartless? Nobody? What?"

_What, you forgot I was in here? Geez, I know I was a Nobody before, but I'd think you'd at least remember your __own__ Nobody…_

With that, what he was saying just clicked into place. Satisfied that I wasn't in any danger, I lowered my Key while still making sure it stayed in my hand. I had to be sure before I let my guard down completely. "…Roxas? Is that you?"

_Yeah, it looks like it. I'm here, in the flesh. Actually, your flesh…_

I didn't know what to think. I hadn't heard a word about Roxas since I got back, and now I could hear him talking in my head? It just didn't make sense…

_I know, I don't get it either. I've been in you—I've been you—since I went in._

"You…You can hear me thinking?"

_If I try. You weren't giving me anything, so I had to take a peek. Sorry…_

"Nono, it's fine, I'm just…" I looked around quickly, making sure nobody saw me talking to myself; the last thing I needed was people thinking the Keyblade master had gone nuts. "How are you talking to me? Did you try to…?"

_Break free? No, I don't think so. It hasn't been too bad in here—at least, I don't think so. I remember joining with you, fighting Xemnas, seeing Namine…and the rest is kinda foggy. I was with you…and then that dream just kinda knocked me outta synch._

"Really? That dream did all of that?" He was silent for a minute or two, but I could still feel him in me. It was like having two heads; there was what I was thinking and feeling, and then there was Roxas, the pocket of thinking space that I could sense, but couldn't enter. He finally spoke up, his voice this time seeming smaller and quieter than before.

_Yeah, but…that's not all. I'm not just in you, Sora. I can still…__feel__ the nothingness. And something's wrong. I think they're back._

I wasn't quite sure what he meant…and then it hit me. And a shiver went up my spine. "You mean the Organization?"

_Uh-huh. I'm not sure, but something's pulling at the nothingness. I can feel it now; something's pulling me somewhere…I'm not sure where…_

I looked back to the tree I'd been sleeping in, looking for what I'd been looking at before I fell asleep. It took a second, but right by the base of the tree I found it: a message in a bottle, carrying a green symbol courtesy of the King.

"Do you think that pulling will help, to 'free you from your torment'?"

_I wanna say yes, but I don't know. Something's…off about it. Sora…can you do me a favor?_

I wasn't expecting that; then again, I wasn't expecting a lot of what was happening tonight to ever happen in the first place. "Well yeah, sure, anything. After everything you've done for me, it's the least I can do."

_Good. I need you to go back to the Organization's world. Whatever's calling me, it's coming from there, and I need to check it out before I answer it. Ok?_

I answered without any hesitation. "Ok, I'll do it. If it'll get you where you need to be, I'll do whatever it takes. I promise." I looked out to the moon, plans whizzing around my head. Despite Roxas' concerns, I was excited; I had another adventure ahead of me. And I couldn't wait.

* * *

Axel's PoV

"What's the prognosis, Vexen?"

"Yeah, is he going to be ok?"

It took forever for me to realize that they were talking about me: even longer to realize that I had no idea where I was. As my thoughts began to solidify into something useful, I noticed that I was in a bed—and I hurt like hell all over. Man, it was like a sledgehammer had slammed all of my joints, running all the way up and down my arms and legs. What happened? I remembered fighting the Dusks with Luxord, and then…it was like a memory hit a wall.

Wait. Slam. Wall. Roxas. I groaned more from heart pain than any physical pain as it all started to come back to me. I opened my eyes, and in a daze I could see at least three figures at the end of the bed; two of them were looking to the third, which was looking down at something in his hands.

"Well, if you two would stop pestering me, you would see that he's regaining consciousness even as we speak. I'll leave you all alone; he'll still be a bit sore from the strain of Cura we had to give him, so just try not to do anything stupid."

He left the room, still writing on what I finally figured out was a clipboard. The other two, Luxord and Zexion, ran to either side of my bed to check up on me. Seeing their looks of concern, for my safety…well, it made the pain a little bit easier.

"Axel…I'm so sorry that I didn't come sooner." Luxord put his hand on my shoulder—which oddly enough was one of the few parts of me that didn't hurt—to reassure me. "I don't know why I didn't think to freeze time after I saw that beam of light come out from the alley. I just ran, and…"

Zexion jumped in before Luxord could say any more. Literally, he jumped on the bed, shaking me and knocking a few of my recently healed ribs. The blow was enough to provoke another groan of pain on my part, but Zexion…didn't seem to notice. His eyes were darting around, and his eyes were scrunched up like he was moving a million miles an hour. "You were in really bad shape when he brought you in. Are you alright? Because, you should've seen the rocks Vexen had to pull out of you before he put the medicine in. He couldn't even use a normal Cura, those jewel things just ate it up, and he had to make some Cure stuff special for you, and even with that, you still wouldn't wake up, and—"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down Zex, I'm still a little achy, remember?" He finally stopped twitching around long enough to make eye contact with me. He looked like a deer in the headlights, only this deer was hiding behind a bush of steel-blue hair. What happened to him? Zexion used to be one of the Organization's most adamant and clear-headed members, the guy who always worked solely in the Organization's interests. Ever since we came back, it's been like he's forgotten everything that makes him him. "So, can one of you tell me how I got out of that city in one piece?"

Luxord was the one to speak up. "I was the one who brought you back. I knew something was amiss when that…thing came whipping out through the streets. It had left a trail of purple rocks in its wake, and at the end of the trail, I found you. You were encased in those rocks, and it took me an hour to excavate you from its core. Vexen believes that the rocks have some sort of magic in them, and that they took you as a host in order to—"

"I believe he understands the circumstances now, Luxord." Zexion slid off the bed and glared at Luxord, the kind of glare that tells you to move or be moved. His voice was so cold and abrupt, he sounded like his old self again. "Now if you don't mind, I think we should let him rest. Please leave the room; I can monitor Axel's vitals alone."

"Now Zexion, Vexen told me that—"

"Vexen is far easier to manipulate than he has been led to believe. Now please, leave."

With a tone like that, anyone would have gotten the hell out of Dodge. For me, his voice sent chills up my spine, and Luxord's look of confidence faded away as he, in his usual dignified manner, backed out of the room and walked out of sight.

I looked over at the guy in amazement; maybe he hadn't changed so much after all. "Damn, Zex. That was cold."

He hadn't moved since he last spoke, but my words seemed to break him out of the spell; his body crumbled as he sank into the nearest chair, his breath exploding out of his lungs as every tensed muscle in his body melted into the chair. He brought his hands up to rub his temples, and he was muttering to himself something over and over.

"Zexion…?"

"I'm fine. I just...need a moment…" Once he'd finally relaxed, he lean forward to look at me and asked, "How're you doing? Does it hurt?"

"How am I…how are you doing, man? Ever since we came back, you've been special needs one minute and cutthroat the next. I mean, I get that we were never that close and I don't know you and everything, but c'mon, what the hell is wrong with you?"

He flinched at every rise in my tone, but once I was done he stepped right into his speech; every word was sincere, but he still managed to speak in a simple, concise, calm manner. "Axel…I'm alone here. Alone. Do you have any idea…I was six years old when the darkness took my heart; as it is, I'm supposed to be only about seventeen. I'm still a kid, but…without my heart, I became this cold, detached, cruel person. I became a whole other person."

He stood up from the chair, pulling his old book out from inside his coat. He flipped it open and sped through the pages until he hit a page close to the very back. "I looked it up at one point, in the library in Hollow Bastion, a long time ago. Adolescence is when most people's brains develop, when they make the transition into full awareness…but I never when through that. I had no emotions, so how could I develop any 'emotional maturity' at all?"

He stepped to my side and showed me the section in his book. On the left page, there was an orderly, neatly written set of paragraphs that detailed an experiment into the nature of darkness; on the right, there were multicolored scrawls of random words all over the page, of every size, angle and curve imaginable. The whole thing was a mess, a schizoid of opposites clashing against each other to the point where it almost hurt to look at it.

"Zex…what is this?"

"The first page was from the last day I spent as a Nobody. It represents all the growth that my mind has made over the years. The other page…is from yesterday, when I realized that I had a heart again. Emotionally, I'm still a lot younger than I look, and I'm not quite sure how to…wed the two sides."

It was starting to make sense, but it took me a bit to put it together; I still felt hazy from the pain and the meds, and I was never a scientist like the top six. "So…what are you? Are you a kid, an adult, a nut, what…?"

"I still don't know. But…I think I find being a kid more comfortable. And so far both sides seem to be useful, so…"

He took the book back into his coat and strode over to the window at the other side of the room, looking outside with his arms crossed in thought and his eyes squeezed shut in frustration. I felt like I should console him or something—his head must have been an absolute train wreck—but something still didn't add up. Like I said, we were never close. "Why are you telling me all of this? Is it a play for…sympathy?"

"No. I trust you, Axel, because you were always different from the rest of us. More…put together, more human." He turned back to me, the look of seriousness back on his face. "I'm also telling you this because I can't stay here, Axel. I…can't stay in this cold emptiness anymore, not the way I am. I need your help to get out, and I think you may be the only one able to help me."

Suddenly I could feel this burning in my chest; everyone always needs my help, don't they? "Oh yeah? And why would I should I trust you? You just told me that your head's split or something, so how am I supposed to know that you aren't just trying to lure me into some trap? Because, if you haven't noticed, I've done the whole 'rebellion' thing before, and it's just landed me right back at square one, hasn't it?"

"You don't have to trust me; I have information you need." He walked over to his chair and reached under the cushion, pulling out an old tattered book. "I did some research in the library. This book describes something similar to what Xemnas used; a surge of yellow energy capable of simulating and instilling fear in its victims. It goes on to speculate on the existence of other such energies, or 'colors', which can correspond to other emotions."

He stopped there, letting me take a glance of the book: _Emotions and Their Unversed Ways_, by Master Xehanort. Seemed old and fancy and all, but I opened the thing up to a random page and I could already tell that it wasn't for me; it was all just some clinical, overly-wordy scientist stuff, and I didn't even try to make heads or tails of it. "Alright, and…?"

"Axel: Luxord reported sighting a beam of purple light in the city streets. He brought you in riddled with giant purple crystals. Don't you see the connection?"

I looked up from the book and asked him point blank, "The point, Zex, what's your point?"

"My point is that you have experience with these colors, and if we combine that with my connections in the Organization, we can find how Xemnas has access to the yellow and neutralize it." He, all of a sudden, winced and looked away; when he looked back, he had a big grin on his face. "Then, it'll be a piece of cake to walk outta here. So…whaddaya say?"

No question about it; Zex was off his rocker. But then again, he did have a point; any craziness on his part would just get worse under the Organization's thumb. He was also right about it not being a coincidence, or at least I hoped he was. Whatever made that purple stuff knew about Roxas, so maybe it could help me find him. "I say fine, I'll play along. But on one condition."

"Oh yeah? What?"

Pulling myself up so I was sitting up in the bed, I looked him dead in the eye and said, "What we're planning here, it's not gonna make the higher-ups to happy. If the time comes that we have to take them on, we're gonna need more than just your illusions and my flames to make it out alive. We need to bring someone else in."

He was hesitant of course, but he knew enough to trust my instincts. "Ok…who? I don't really have any friends here, not anymore. And you and Saix…"

"Forget him, I've got just the guy." I smiled. "And don't worry, I'm positive that he'll stake his game on you. After all, he's got all the time in the world for us."

* * *

Ahh, foreshadowing. How I do love thee.

Still, I'm starting to feel like my writing style is getting repetitive. Please let me know if this is the case, and I'll try and work on it.

Please review. Reviews to me are like accents on Southerners; you expect them occasionally, and love them always.


	8. Chapter 8: Icy Heart

Sorry this took so long! I'm in the middle of exams, so its going to be a little slow for a bit, but I'm still here!

* * *

Chapter 8: Icy Heart

Zexion's PoV

"I simply don't see why it's necessary to operate in such haste. Wouldn't our plans execute themselves much more smoothly if we spent more time on reconnaissance?"

"I told you Lux, we're on a time crunch!"

"Will you two just shhh!" I practically hissed at the two of them as I looked up at the glass staircase above. Luxord managed to rig us a giant card right under the Twilight's View—the main passage between the private quarters and the labs below—and I've gotta say, it was the perfect spot; it was secluded enough so no one would look for us there, not to mention the passage was vital to any member who needed to get to work directly after the Superior's given orders. And we would catch someone there, someone who was involved in the upper number's plans; lord knows that half the backroom deals around this castle take place here. Heck, I wrote the handbook on those dealings myself.

Oh wait; I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? I almost forgot to tell you about Luxord!

Yeah, Axel insisted on it; he wasn't doing anything unless Luxord was there to watch our backs. I wasn't too keen on the idea, but in the end Axel was right; after he explained everything to Luxord, the gambler had only one thing to say: "I knew you'd find a game worth playing. I'm in." Granted, I'm still a little concerned about his loyalties in all of this, but if I play things right, we could use his time powers very effectively…

So anyway, it was my idea to wait under the Twilight's View; I figured that we were bound to pick up some sort of useful information there. That is, we might have been able to learn something useful…if the Nutty Professor and Steven Hyde hadn't been bantering up a storm behind me.

(…What? We get a few TV channels in the castle every now and then. I can't read all the time, that would make anyone numb.)

"Look, just give the kid a break, alright? Just because you've got all of reality on a rewind/fast forward reel doesn't mean we shouldn't do something here in the present."

"I only mean to suggest that we would probably benefit from the time it would take to close any potential holes in—"

"Shhh!"

I felt a hand grab my shoulder, but I was too busy trying to see up into the next corridor… "Zexion, I implore you: don't ignore my ideas. For all my so-called 'grandiloquence', I'm only looking out for what is best for us—"

I looked over my shoulder and did my best to shoot darts out of my eyes. It seemed to do the trick. "Will you shut up? Someone's coming!" I looked back, and sure enough, the shadow I'd seen coming down the next hall turned the corner…and turned out to be Vexen. All I can say is he looked jittery: really, really jittery. I'm talking about the kind of jittery you see when someone's just seen their worst nightmare.

"Why…Why on earth does the Superior believe that he c-can…intimidate me? I-I can't simply…speed up my experiments; they take time, a great deal of time. I am a scientist; I know what I'm d-doing…" Huh. I knew he was kinda spineless, but Vexen wasn't the time to mumble to himself like this; he only did that when he was working. The colors maybe? He did mention talking to Xemnas…

"Well, doesn't he look all chewed up and spit out…"

Ugh, Axel! I spun around without thinking and hissed, "Shut up!"...and then immediately froze as I heard Vexen breathe in sharply: he knew!

"What? Who's there?" He brought out his shield and started cowering behind it as we did the same behind the column supporting the walkway above. I tried to hide us with a cloud of nothingness from my book, but I think he caught a glimpse of us turning around the column. "Oh, a spy, eh? Well, try and sneak away from this!"

And before I could do anything else, the world just froze. The air around me turned tough and solid, freezing around my limbs until I couldn't move. I tried to call upon my Retribution, but its pages became caught in the ice too, and it stayed frozen shut and useless. I began to panic, and I was scrambling to think of something…but then I saw his leering face, floating right in front of me.

Vexen floated down through the ice, and suspended himself barely an inch away from my face. His hair was bobbing in the ice, and he moved through it as easily as a swimmer through a pool of water. The coward sneered in my face, knowing he had me right in his grasp; of course, now he had a backbone, now that I couldn't do anything to stop him.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" He swam in a circle around the playing card, examining Axel and Luxord's terrified faces with a sarcastic surprise. "Luxord and Axel, the castle jokes. And Zexion…you're quite the sneak, masquerading as an imbecile all this time. Think you can trick me into showing you all my little secrets and letting you get into all sorts of trouble unchaperoned, eh?"

Dammit, I could beat this guy! Vexen's useless in a fair fight; I could've wiped the floor with him—if I could just find a way out of the ice…

"Ah, and to think, when I saw your face, I actually thought of giving you another chance and letting you go…" He finally stopped circling, electing to stop and glare at Axel. "But then I saw your new friend here, and I saw that you both simply had to go." As he shot daggers out of his eyes at Axel, Vexen seemed to spit out every word as if they were poison themselves. "Hello, Axel. I'll bet you've just been dying to see me again, haven't you?" Axel groaned something through his frostbitten mouth, though from his angry tone I have a pretty good of what he said. "Not so tough without your chakrams, eh Axel? You should probably know I've had my sights set on you for some time now. You ended my existence, flame dancer, and now I intend to return the favor. In full."

Oh God, I forgot about that. That was that; we were going to die. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see it happen. It hurts less if you don't see it coming, right?

"Prepare for death, spies. I hope you make hell freeze over!"

* * *

Sora's PoV

_You're sure Riku won't mind?_

"Relax, Roxas, it was my Gummi Ship to begin with. I'm allowed to take my own ship for a spin without permission." I set the ship into drive, letting Donald's driving lessons come back to me. I was a little concerned at how comfortable I was getting with my talking to thin air, but Roxas was good enough company that I didn't worry too much.

_Still, this isn't some joyride; we're going a lot closer to the dark realm than he'd probably like, and he strikes me as kinda the protective type…_

"It doesn't matter; you need help, and if our dream means anything, then we need to get to the bottom of this—fast." Now all I had to do was spin around, check the engines and lasers…and we were good to go. "We'll be fine, Roxas, I promise. Dark City, here we come!"

* * *

Oh, the suspense!

Please review. Reviews to me are like Kryptonite to Superman; they may hurt sometimes, but they tell me where to go and what works well.


	9. Chapter 9: Extremes

Chapter 9: Extremes

* * *

Luxord's PoV

Well, this simply won't do, will it? Frozen in ice, Vexen holding a grudge—against Axel, no less, I always wondered if he had something to do with the Castle Oblivion debacle. No no, if my time is going to end anytime soon, it certainly won't be as a hapless victim of another's past failings.

"Prepare for death, spies. I hope you make hell freeze o—"

Aaaaand that's enough of that: time to intervene. I froze the moment right then and there, stopping the Academic in mid-rant. Now that we were safe from death, it was simply a matter of moving us back a few minutes—Vexen back on the stairway, the ice back in its previous state of normal air, us hiding just below Vexen—and stopping at the new moment. Once I was free to move, all I had to do was snap my fingers to bring Zexion and Axel out of time to join me. The two of them collapsed on our card platform, gasping for breath.

"Duh…Damn, Lux. You couldn't have done that sooner?"

Typical Axel; don't misunderstand me, I trusted him now, he never could give a straight complement to any of us. Any of us besides Roxas that is…

"Me? Forgive me, but aren't you the one with control over fire?"

He looked up and directed a scowl at me. "Yeah, but I need some energy to work with first. No heat, no movement, no fire power. Got it memorized?"

"Just quit it, ok?" While Axel continued with his panting on the ground, Zexion calmly rose to his feet and looked into my eye with a cold yet passive stare. I must admit, despite his explanations of his…condition, Zexion never ceases to unnerve me when he makes the transition from child to adult like this. That kind of compartmentalization can't possibly be healthy… "Luxord, I need you to focus on the task at hand. Can you send us forward in time while keeping an eye on Vexen along the way?"

On the other hand, I must offer credit where it's due; the child is very resourceful. That is, he would be, except… "Zexion, time is not simply a reel of film to rewind and fast forward at whatever speed you wish. If I were to try to progressively move forward in time, as opposed to simply 'jumping' forward, the amount of power and strain it would take—"

"Can you do it?"

His eyes hadn't changed, but the forcefulness in his voice...he certainly wasn't going to take no for an answer. I took a relative moment—a relative one mind you; we were stopped in one second of time after all—and gave him the best answer I could. "If I were to shift us between seconds, it would be possible to watch events in real-time without the possibility of interaction or detection. However, the energy that would require, not to mention the strain on my person—"

"Axel, I'm going to need you to monitor Luxord's thermal readings. He's going to be working really hard, and if his temperature rises or falls I'll need you to regulate it." Axel looked at him in shock, then nodded and walked over and grabbed me by my shoulders. I wanted to protest, but Axel's confused expression told me that he had as much an idea of where Zexion was going with this as I did.

I couldn't believe it myself; Zexion was going to force me to, for all intents and purposes, tear myself apart in some mad time experiment! "Zexion, I beg of you, don't force me to do this! You have no idea of the kind of pain I'll be forced to endure through this!"

"You let me worry about the pain. Just focus on the task at hand, and I promise you that you'll have nothing to worry about." He looked me in the eyes and for what could have been a second, I saw that stoicism melt away. The child in him came back, and his eyes seemed to beg for me to do as he said.

"Does the 'innocent-eyes' ploy work very often for you?"

Zexion jumped back incredulously…then looked down at his feet, blushing. "Yeah, it kinda does."

I couldn't contain myself anymore; I burst out laughing, so much so that Axel started laughing behind me as well out of sheer anxiety. Manipulation, pure and simple: now this was something I was accustomed to working with. "Alright, little Schemer, I'll take the gamble on your scheme. Just remember, I am relying on you to ensure my survival—for all our sakes." With that, I closed my eyes, called all my power into me…and suddenly, my senses expanded far beyond what I had ever experienced.

_It was as if my mind and the world had switched places; I could do anything, manipulate __anything__. Every single second of time that ever was or would be was under my full command! I swung my arms outward, and I could suddenly see an entire hour spread out in front of me, each window to the world a single minute in its domain. It was incredible, beyond my wildest dreams; I was omnipotent, an all powerful and all-consuming force of nature itself that could do anything my mind could imagine…

* * *

_

Zexion's PoV

"Zex, he's only been going at it for a minute and his core temperature's already spiking. Why isn't he screaming in pain?"

It took a minute for me to focus enough to answer Axel; I'd taken out Retribution, and it was taking all of my concentration to weave the illusion I needed from its pages. Once I'd finished, I looked up to find that it had worked; Luxord was sweating, but his mouth was frozen in a permanent grin of pure ecstasy. He began to stumble, but I managed to catch him before he fell. Right away, I could notice two things: he was heavy, and the muscles in his arms were contracting and relaxing out of control as the power surged through him. "Axel, take him, please. I've got him sedated best I can, but I need you to siphon the fever out of him before his organs start to fail!"

At the sound of organs Axel pulled Luxord off of me, set him down level on the card, and positioned himself in a rush at Lux's side. As quickly as he could, he called out his chakrams and held them over Luxord's body. The weapons began to glow neon red, and when he let them float on their own, Luxord began to glow the same way. Then, after a deep breath, he flung his arms out, and in response the glow shot out from Luxord, through the chakrams, and into the air as an inferno of flames. Thankfully it seemed to do some good; Luxord's convulsions began to slow down, and eventually he lay completely still.

Axel himself looked absolutely terrified; I don't think he'd tried anything this big before, nor had he done so on a fellow Number. "He…he's not cooling down, Zex! The fever's just growing stronger!"

"You won't have to worry about that much longer, Axel. Look!" I pointed up to the staircase, where time seemed to be back on track. Vexen was moving, albeit in very choppy motions; I suppose Luxord's efforts weren't going to be quite as precise as I would've liked. Still, the overall goal was reached; Vexen looked pissed as hell, but he couldn't see us at all. I wanted to see what he would do next, but Axel seemed determined to occupy my full attention.

"Why are we doing this, Zexion? You…you could've just hid us with an illusion, couldn't you?"

"It doesn't work that way, Axel; I can't make something out of nothing, that's Xemnas' field. I can only make an illusion by either pulling it out of a book or expanding on my surroundings. I tried to disguise us as part of the nothingness in this castle, but Vexen saw through it, so I had to take extreme measures." I looked back up to see Vexen running off down the staircase, towards the labs. Good, that meant that either the rewind of time made him forget about us or he was going off to hide his work; either way, it gave us the chance we needed to follow him without too much trouble. "Ok Axel, you can stop now: time to downshift back to normal time."

As Axel let the flames die down and the glow fade, I knelt down by Luxord's face. He was still drooling in euphoria, even as the convulsions began to return and his fever began to rise. "Luxord? Can you hear me?"

"Ah…Zexion…it's amazing…!"

I stroked the top of his hair, pulling the dream out as he began to whine at the returning pain. "I know, Luxord, but you need to let the power go now. We need to get going."

"Uhh…ok…" For the first time since this madness had started, Luxord opened his eyes…and released an explosive shockwave, nearly throwing us off the card. Apparently, the energy Luxord had been using decided to explode out all at once, and it was only Luxord's card maneuvering that kept us from falling to our deaths. He flew the card up over the staircase just in time, and we all collapsed onto its glass surface.

"Owwww…Luxord, c'mon!" I wasn't too hurt, but Axel, who had somehow ended up at the bottom of the heap, seemed ready to tear through the both of us. "You couldn't have just…held it in longer?"

For a second, we all just stayed completely still, taking in the full absurdity of what Axel had just said. Then, for reasons that still completely baffle part of me, we all just burst out into laughter, rolling off each other and lying side by side on the glass floor. It was an amazing feeling; we laughed for what seemed like forever, and we did so without any purpose or goal in mind. Our laughter wasn't meant to demean another or send a message of superiority; it was simply laughter, the purest expression of that which we had been unable to feel for so long: joy.

And believe it or not, I loved it. I know that it is hard for those not in my position to understand, but it's the little things like laughing at an accidental joke, or talking without an agenda, or just breathing and enjoying life that makes all of this pain worth it. From that point on, if I ever felt my hopes dying or my heart numbing, I remembered that laugh, because that's what I was fighting for: the chance to escape this world of darkness and live again.

Eventually, I managed to catch my breath, and I turned my head to the left to check on Luxord beside me. "How…how are you doing? Any pain left over?"

"I feel sore…all over…" He turned to me, coughing through his laughs as his chest began to spasm from the strain of laughing. "What…what did you cast on me? That…was some good stuff…"

That just had me laughing harder then ever before; I have never, in all the time I've know him, heard Luxord say a common word like "stuff". "I…I…I drew an illusion…from Xemnas' Secret Reports. From back when he was Xehanort? He…He wrote…so much stuff…his delusions of grandeur and power practically oozed out of his writing!"

And at that, I just let go and kept laughing, enjoying every minute of it. Once I finally calmed down I looked up, and Luxord and Axel were there, grabbing either side of me to help me up.

"Oh…ok, I'm good now. You…you guys wanna…get going or what?"

* * *

I love writing with a lot of imagery! It just opens up so many doors as to what I can do with it!

Also, I just found out that this story's been added to a community, my first one. Thank you, Super Shadow the Hedgehog!

While I'm at it, thank you also to my faithful reader, whose name I can never seem to get, but he knows who he is! Gosh he's insightful. To him, I say this: yes, I am aware of Axel and Zexion's past relationship, but thank you for reminding me to address it. I will be doing so in the next few chapters, so keep a look out!

Please review. Reviews to me are like those light blue properties in Monopoly: they don't seem like much, but put them all together and they can change the whole game.


	10. Chapter 10: The Fear and The Source

Man, I just pop these chapters out like rapid fire, don't I? I know it may seem slow to you guys, because I only add a new chapter a few days later sometimes, but usually I've got the general idea of how the next chapter is supposed to go laid out in my head before the one I'm working on is even done! After that, it's a matter of taking the time to write it out, add little oddities of character development or theme-related passages where they feel right, etc.

Also, I'd like to thank ValorFormSor, for making this story a favorite of his. I read his kind words on the subject on his profile, and I assure you I am extremely grateful.

But enough about the real world: on with the show!

* * *

Chapter 10: The Fear and The Source

Sora's PoV

"Alright, weeeee areeeeeee…here! We're officially landed, Roxas."

_We are? Then…where's the land?_

He did have a bit of a point, for someone who had never consciously ridden a Gummi Ship before; outside the window, all we could see was the same storm of Gummi ships and space debris we'd just fought to get through. Even from the cockpit, you had to squint through all of the racing ships to get a glimpse of The World That Never Was below. Not that I was squinting; after that crazy ride, I was just leaning back in the driver's seat, putting my feet up, and catching my breath.

"Well, technically we've landed. We're close enough that we can leave the Gummi and get down to the ground without too much trouble. Believe me; you don't wanna see what happens when a Gummi Ship actually touches down on a world."

_Okaaay, I'll take your word for it._ I laughed a bit at how he said that; as alike as we were, Roxas had a more…sarcastic, even biting sense of humor. Where I just saw things as they were, Roxas had a way of looking deeper, finding humor or reason in just about anything. _But __man__, what's with all the traffic out here? I thought you knew how to drive this hunk of metal, and yet we were both holding on for dear life just trying not to get slammed with something. Any ideas?_

"Well, these do seem like Nobody ships…" Which was true enough; they were all grey, and had that weird symbol on them. "I guess they've gotten into joyriding since I beat their bosses, huh?"

_Heh, yeah, I guess so…_

Uh oh, better move on to the next subject; All the way here, anytime I brought up the Organization, Roxas would go quiet on me for five, maybe ten minutes at a time. I guess the whole thing was kinda still a sore spot for him… "H-Hey, wanna head down? With all the traffic, the only spot I can get a clear shot of through all of this is that alley in Dark City, but it seems like as good a place to start as any, right?"

…_Yeah, yeah, right. Let's go._

Man, the poor guy…after everything he's been through, he deserves a second chance more than anyone else I know. I sat up in the chair, checked the controls to make sure everything was locked, and stood up, ready to head out.

Like I said, a Gummi Ship can't actually land on a world. Donald explained it to me at one point, something about "the world order" and "space elements" interacting with "earth elements"…either way, the only way out of a Gummi is a teleporter built into the cockpit that, given a clear signal, will beam you to any place on the planet, provided that it's closed off and there aren't any Heartless around. Ours is relatively simple: a single white circle on the ground in the back of the cock pit. I stepped over it and prepared myself for arrival planet-side…when suddenly, I heard this clanking sound from the back of the ship.

"Hello? Who's there?" I brought out the Keyblade, purely out of instinct, and ran through the hall to the back of the Gummi. I had actually worked up a good sprint…when I wound up falling flat on my back. In my defense though, I did it on purpose; if I'd stayed upright, I would've been hit by a blast of steam. So, me on my back, much better than a face full of steam, right?

See, there's a reason I don't go into the back of the ship very often; that's where all the real machinery stuff is. It's all pipes and gaskets and motors…none of which I can make heads or tails of. Trust me, the last time I went back there, Donald went off at me for half an hour. I couldn't understand a word he was saying, but he lost enough feathers yelling at me to get the message across.

Still…as little as I knew, I knew enough that I could tell something was up. Once I crawled past the steam, I looked back and saw that the steam was coming out of a pipe—one that had been sliced open at the end. Whatever did the slicing must've been pretty strong; it was a clean cut, and the edges were still glowing red from the heat of the weapon.

"What the heck…?"

_That can't be good._

I looked farther down the hall, and if I was really quiet, underneath all the sounds of steam and machinery I could hear something scraping against metal. Whatever it was, it was dying down, as if it was running down the hall…

_Well don't just stand there, Sora! We've got a stowaway, go get'em!_

I didn't need much more goading than that; right away, I ran down the hall, swinging my key with all the gusto I could. Roxas may be quicker on his feet, but I'll show him! I'm the Keyblade master, I can take down any monster I—

"Kairi?"

I had turned a corner, and…there she was, darting around, looking for a place to hide. Of course, this ship isn't huge, so there's no way she would've found anyplace useful, but it didn't stop her from trying. When she heard me call her name, she spun around and looked at me, smiling and playing with her hair out of embarrassment. It was then that I noticed what she had in her right hand: a large, flowery Keyblade.

"Oh! Sora…what are you doing here?"

"What am I…what're you doing here? And…what's that?"

"Oh, this old thing?" She held the key up awkwardly, her arm dipping at the elbow from its weight; she obviously hadn't had the thing for very long. "Riku gave it to me a while back, and I figured, why not keep it? I've been practicing!"

I looked around at all the broken pipes, slashed walls, and lines from where she dragged the blade along the floor. "Yeah, I can see that…wait, don't change the subject! Why are you here?"

Kairi's smile disappeared as she looked down at the ground, smudging some dirt into the ground with her foot. "I…I came to find you last night. I really needed to talk to you. I saw you heading to the Gummi port, and I heard you talking to yourself, so…I thought I'd follow you along, make sure you were ok."

Uh oh, that couldn't be good. How was I going to explain myself to her? Hey, there's a voice in my head, and I thought I'd let it take me on a wild goose chase for I don't even know what? "You…you heard me talking to myself? Kairi…that-that's crazy! I mean, you know me, I'm not crazy!"

I tried my best to put on my usual goofy smile and cheeriness, but she didn't seem to buy it. She looked up at me with this…fear in her eyes, and the sight of it sent a chill up my spine. Kairi's always so happy; what could be making her worry so much?

"You can feel Roxas, can't you?"

For once, I had no idea what to say to her; I just stood there petrified. How did she know?

"I heard you say his name, when I went to look for you. You were talking to him, and I thought that, maybe, it meant…did you have a weird dream last night?"

Wait, did she mean… "…Yeah. Yeah, I did."

She looked up at me, both desperate and hopeful. "You did? Mine was on our island. I was looking out at the water…"

"…but it didn't feel right?"

"Yes! And did you see someone…"

"…in a black coat! And everything kept changing…"

"…but you couldn't get to them, yes, exactly!" She all of a sudden tripped, falling right into my arms. I hadn't noticed, but we'd been getting closer the whole time, and now she had tripped over my giant feet. I managed to catch her, thank goodness…and for a moment, I just…looked at her.

I'd always liked Kairi, I had, and as I looked down at her…her soft, perfect skin, her pretty hair, her deep blue eyes…I know I shouldn't have been thinking it, but sometimes, when we were alone and she was leaning beside me, I'd just close my eyes and imagine…

_Hey Sora, I don't wanna interrupt, but we __do__ need to get going. Get your head out of the clouds and ask her what you're thinking._

Well, that got me thinking straight. I immediately put Kairi back on her feet and backed a few steps away. _Right, right. Sorry…_

_Hey, don't apologize to me. __She's__ the one your subconscious is undressing piece by piece, I've just got a front row seat. Don't get me wrong, I'm not into her at all, but man, all your "urges"…_

_Ok, you can be quiet again._

"Sora? Are you ok?"

Right, Kairi. I shook my head back into reality and got back to the task at hand. "So Kairi, that dream…does that mean…because, Roxas came back after my dream, so…?"

She looked down at the ground again, letting her Keyblade disappear. "I…I don't know. But…" Next thing I knew, she threw herself into my arms and buried her face in my chest. "Ever since then, I've been remembering all these places that I've never been to. Long white halls and big grass fields…and there were all these people, these Nobodies in coats, and they locked me away all alone…" I wasn't really sure what to do, so I just did what I always do; I wrapped my arms around Kairi and held her close as she choked back tears. "It…it all feels so real, Sora. These memories…I can feel them as if I did them, but I know I didn't. They're not my memories, they're hers, and I don't know what they mean!"

"Hers? You mean…?"

"My other's, Namine's. Why can I feel her? And if you can talk to Roxas, why can't I talk to her? I don't know what to do…"

"Kairi…it's ok." I held her out in front of me, looking straight into her teary, blood-shot eyes. "Roxas told me that he felt something pulling him here, and if you had that dream the same time I did, then there must be a connection! If we go down to the world down there, then maybe, just maybe, we can figure out what's going on. Have you gotten any good with that Keyblade?" She nodded quickly, bringing up a hand to wipe away her eyes. "Good, then I want you to come with me."

She seemed surprised at that; her pretty blue eyes grew bigger than ever. "Wha…What?"

I chuckled a little, just to get her to smile a bit, and told her, "Yeah, I want you with me. You have a Keyblade now, you don't need me to defend you. Besides, you're scared; I know better than most that being able to do something about your fears is the best way to chase them off. So, what do ya say?" I flashed a smile, now more for my sake than hers; I hated seeing her in pain like this.

Kairi laughed and brushed my hands off her sides, standing tall to look up at my face. "Thanks, Sora. I…I still need you though. I want you to know that."

"I know." I brought her in to hug me again, making sure that she felt completely safe. "We're gonna fight this, Kairi. We're gonna fight this, and we're gonna be ok. I promise."

In the back of my head, I could feel Roxas smiling, the warmth in his part of our shared mind spreading over to mine. _You're a good guy, Sora. I'm glad I came from you._

_Thanks, Roxas. And I mean it too: we're getting out of this, and we're gonna be ok. All of us.

* * *

_

Axel's PoV

"Hey, Zexion?"

We were practically sprinting down the halls of lab doors to keep up with Vexen, but you know how you think of the weirdest things right when you're in the middle of a crisis? Well, the all the craziness with Vexen got me thinking, and something didn't quite add up…

"Yes, Axel?" Zexion spun around to face me, letting Luxord run ahead without us. He seemed impatient, but at the same time willing to listen. Good, might make this a bit less awkward.

"Yeah, um, that stuff that Vexen was talking about? About how I…you know…"

"Killed him, yes?"

Man, he's direct sometimes. "Right. Right, and…well, that happened back at Castle Oblivion."

He crossed his arms and squinted; as odd as Zex can be sometimes, it was obvious he was trying to read me. "Yes?"

"Well, you remember what else happened at Castle Oblivion."

That was the nail needed to seal the coffin; he stiffed, then brought his hands up to cup his face. "Oh. Right…you're worried about how you killed me too."

I…I…Worried? What was I supposed to say beyond that? I mean, I just brought up how I sent him through the ringer before finally having him pinned to a wall like a dead pheasant! "You…you're not mad?"

"Axel…" He stepped up to me and put a hand on my shoulder to reassure me. "I told you before, I'm different now. I have a heart now; we all do. And…I'd like to think that we've all changed in some way because of it." He closed his eyes and pushed a long strand of steel blue hair out of his face, smiling at himself as he tried his best to explain his forgiveness. "I disregarded all my previous assumptions when I came back—easy enough to do with out any previous emotional grudges—and you were…nothing but nice to me. Even with my crazy childishness kicking in. So, don't worry about the past; we wouldn't be doing this unless we believed that it was possible to escape that past anyway."

Intellectually, I wanted to scream at the giant, gaping holes in the logic around this. But…out of everything the kid had explained to me over the past few days, this was not the weirdest explanation he'd given. Not by a long shot. So…what the heck. Like he said, leave the past behind; if he goes psycho-vengeance on me, I'll deal with it then. In the meantime, I think I'll decide to trust him. "Alright bud, I'll let it be."

"Axel, Zexion! Come, you have to see this!"

It wasn't a question of why or what, or even who; the minute we heard Luxord call, the both of us forgot everything we'd been thinking and ran down the hall, not stopping until we found the gambler at the very last door on the right. He was anxious to say the least, with one foot in the lab as he looked around the door at us in a sweat. I'd seen Luxord let his guard down before, in the city, but this was entirely different; instead of fatalistic depression, his normal bravado had given way to an emotion I'd never expected from a time jumper like himself: confusion, a complete inability to comprehend whatever he'd seen.

"I…It's…just…see for yourselves." He let go of the door, drifting without direction as I pushed him aside and whipped the door open to find…

"…No."

The room was dark, darker than any other part of the castle. That is, the room itself was dark; in the darkness, I could see a multitude of glowing pipes, all clinging to the rounded walls around the room. Each pipe was coursing with a different color: red, yellow, green, blue. Imagine neon lights, only liquid. The pipes ran around the room and exited through different holes in the ceiling. They twisted and turned in a hopeless tangle, but they all seemed to be coming from the same place—the colored liquids all seemed to run up from pipes on the floor, and those pipes…ran from the main attraction.

There, in the center of the room, was a kid nailed to a huge column like some sort of crucifixion. He had short black hair, in the same style as Roxas', but his skin was much paler and more battle torn in comparison. He wore a brown trench coat, but I couldn't really see much more of him than that; tearing through his cloths and skin were dozens of the pipes, leeching color out of his body and offering their supply to the rest of the room. The poor guy looked half dead, but right when I'd decided that maybe he was…his head moved up just a bit. His eyes opened about halfway, and he looked out at the light pouring in behind me before falling back into his slumber.

"Zex…do you know who this is?"

He came up from behind me and perched his hands on my shoulder, gripping as hard as he could out of sheer terror. "No, but…if they can find this much power, and just take it, without telling us? This changes…absolutely everything."

* * *

Aaaaand, now the ball's really rolling! Time for the real revelations, just you see!

Please review. Reviews to me are like lies to Dr. Lightman; they reveal everything I need to know to get the job done.


	11. Chapter 11: Warped Minds

Ok, I thought I'd run something by all of you out there. I was looking through stories on this site as usual, and I got the greatest idea for another story: the inhabitants of The World That Never Was, coming out to take back their town. It may or not fit in with the storyline I've built here, but I still think that it might be worth exploring. Any thoughts on the subject? Let me know in a review!

* * *

Chapter 11: Warped Minds

Axel's PoV

To be perfectly honest…of all the things that went through my head once I saw that kid, the one that really stuck out was this: I wasn't concerned for him. Not in the slightest. Instead of any normal, human compassion that people are supposed to feel when they see another in pain, I just felt…disappointed.

I didn't know this guy. Literally, I had no idea who he was. That's not how it's supposed to work, right? Look, with all the mysteries that have come up since I joined the Organization, they always connected to this bigger picture and it all made sense, y'know? They all connected to the key—Sora—and, in a sense, I think I'd been expecting someone else in here. Someone…yeah, I was expecting someone different, more than anyone else: Roxas.

I mean, c'mon, it doesn't take a genius to put the pieces together. A purple-colored Roxas doppelganger attacks me in an alley, right before Zexion pulls me on some wild goose chase after some crazy color theory; it means that Roxas has to be involved somehow, right? So now, we find the source of all the colors, which should mean that we've just about accomplished what we've set out to do…and we're stuck with some unknown, nobody kid? I'm not gonna lie…that sucked!

Thankfully, Zexion had the common sense to go and pull me back into reality before I could do anything stupid; as soon as he'd gotten over the shock of the scene, he ran forward and started checking on the kid. He turned around and waved for me to come over and help him, and all I could do was shake my head before walking over to join him.

"Can-Can you believe this? I-I've never seen anything like this before in my life! An entire network of these colors…wow, it must be enough to power the whole castle!"

"…Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is…" I didn't want to look Zex in the eye just yet; I didn't want him to see through to the raw pit I could feel forming in my chest. I crossed my arms and started pacing around the column, making sure I knew exactly what I was dealing with. Zexion decided to focus more on the kid himself, examining the tubes protruding from his skin like a giggling toddler at Christmas.

"Do you have any idea what this mean, Axel? If I could examine this properly, it could teach us so much about the colors' properties! I just can't believe that they're getting so much out of one person; do all people have this much in them? And if they do correspond to emotions, how does he have so many varieties at once…?" Leave it to Zexion to let his curiosity override his fear; that dual-personality of his must have really come in handy at that moment.

I stopped my pacing at the back of the column, looking at the bands of pipes which formed horizontal bands around the structure. Oddly enough, the thing looked as though its design was based off of an upside-down tree; the center column gave the system support, then branched off to different ports exiting the room. From what little I could tell—I'm no mechanic or scientist, but I know enough—every single pipe passed through that back support after leeching whatever it could out of the kid.

Good—that would make what I had to do a whole lot easier. I tried to be quiet about it, but Zexion still caught sight of my chakrams blazing into my hands. "Axel? What're you doing?"

"What I have to, Zex." And in a single motion I swung the wheels up, scorching an X-shaped scar through the entire trunk and letting the pit in my chest explode into a full blown furry of anger. The flames licked away at the pipes' casings as they did my heart, threatening to break through and destroy this contraption for good. It was a rush, one both exhilarating and terrifying as the inferno threatened to consume everything inside. I would've done so, so much more to ensure it worked, but Zexion sprang forward and held his arms up between me and the column.

"Axel, are you insane? You can't just smash it all to bits, we need to make sure it's safe—"

"We came here with a job to do, Zex: get rid of the Superior's advantage so we could leave here without fear of being recaptured. The only way we can do that is if this thing is gone!"

"Hello, Axel, it's not just a machine; there's a person trapped inside! We need to see if we can help him escape with us!" The curiosity in Zexion's eyes died down, and the child started to come out again. It didn't matter though; I wasn't going to let him manipulate me like he had others.

"Why? Can't you see that it's because of him that we're trapped here? I am so sick and tired of being caught up in all of this, just get out of the way and let my life be mine again!" Letting the inferno within drive me, I threw Zexion out of the way to strike again with those beautiful flames…only to find that I couldn't.

The flames were gone. The leaking and the blazing and the licking…all gone. In the time it had taken me to get past Zexion, the colors had…calcified over the wound, forming a jagged crystal scab to smother all my wonderful work. "Wha…?"

"Yes, a beautiful design, isn't it? The boy's own abilities prevent his own salvation. Poetic justice, considering his past."

I leaned to look around the column, and it was him: Vexen. He was standing in the doorway, his giant shield in his right hand and Luxord slumped over in his left. Immediately, I jumped in front of the kid—Roxas or not, no way I was letting Vexen get at any of this color business—and set the chakrams spinning around me. Zexion caught on pretty quickly, and raced around to stand at my side, book opened up to a particularly nasty-looking picture. For all our fighting just before, we put up a united front against him. We had to; we both knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was out best shot at taking Vexen out before he found a way of locking us away for good.

"Ah ah, naughty naughty." He shook his head and leered at us; trying his best to goad us into the first move. "Such a shame: two against one. What will I do?" He then did something I really didn't expect; he stopped cowering behind his shield. In fact, he dismissed his shield altogether and stepped to the side, grandly gesturing to the open door. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to put my next hypothesis to the test. Tell me, who do you think will win—two human beings, fighting for their lives…?"

And that's when I first thought it: This was it, we were both going to die.

Through the door, as cold and calculating as ever, came Marluxia, Larxene, and Demyx, all wrapped in shackles of pulsating colors. Each was possessed by a different hue of the stuff: Larxene by bleeding cysts of a sharp red, Demyx by scrambling tendrils of a crackling yellow, Marluxia by deep-rooted lines of darkened orange. I started to reason with them, but stopped before I could make a fool out of myself; there was no reasoning with these puppets. You could see it in their eyes, literally; the colors had infected even their pupils.

"…or our strongest assassins, fueled the most powerful forces that the heart has to offer?"

* * *

Sora's PoV

"Wowwwwww…"

We came down in the alley alright…except something major had happened there. I expected to find the same dark, seedy street I saw when I first came to this world. Instead, we came down to find the place torn apart, and littered with hunks of giant purple crystals.

I held back for just a moment, making sure the place was still safe enough to start moving. Not that Kairi was complaining; the eerie glow the crystals gave off frightened her, and she came close to me for support.

"Sora? What…What are they?"

"I'm not sure…but they don't seem dangerous." I looked down at her with a smile and nudged her along. "Let's go; odds are we're safer if we keep moving."

"Oh…Okay…" She took a step forward, then looked back at me with a wide grin; she must've expected something to jump out at her at the first step. "They're not so bad. They're actually kind of pretty…" Then, before I could even think to stop her, she reached out and stroked the smooth side of a large crystal beside her.

That's when the craziness started. The second she made contact with the rock, it split open and shot out a single spike, slicing past her hand in less time than it takes to say it. Kairi fell back on to the ground, and all I could do was run forward and check on her.

"Kairi, are you alright?" I took her hand in mine to check the wound: it was pretty bad.

"I'm…I'm fine…"

It was a weird cut; the spike had sliced straight past her, but it had left a jagged, purple path on her skin. The blood flowed freely out of the wound, but it dried into a crusty dust once it left the cut itself.

"It's…It's just a little…a little…"

Something was wrong; a small thing like this shouldn't have put her in shock. I turned to ask her what was wrong, only to find her in a blank stare. Her pupil had turned purple, same as the crystal.

"Kairi?"

"A…a little_…a little…"_

All of a sudden she jumped up into the air, floating just a few inches above my head. I yelped in surprise and reached out helplessly as a purple glow grew from her body.

"_A little dark_

_A little light_

_A little schism_

_A little fight"_

She extended her right arm, calling upon her flowery key. The key floated before her, then pointed itself forward and shunted its handle into a ninety-degree turn. The handle grew into a large panel, opened to reveal a set of unfolding wings, and lowered itself as Kairi jumped on and raced down the street.

"Kairi, wait!" I didn't know what to do; I couldn't just run after her, her glider-thing was moving way too quickly. But if she could do that with her key…I held my key out and hoped for a miracle.

For once, a miracle came; the Keyblade morphed into a similar mechanism. Without even considering the fact that I had no idea how to drive the thing, I hoped on and raced after her. I didn't care what kind of crazy crystal voodoo Kairi was under; she wasn't going to leave me in the dust. I'd make sure of that.

* * *

Whew, that was a weird thing to come up with, huh? Just for fun, let's see if any of you can figure out what Kairi's rhyme meant!

I know, I still haven't revealed the identity of brown-trench-coat-boy. Don't worry, all in good time…

Please review. Reviews to me are like cocoanuts to Gilligan's Island; they're needed to get just about everything done.


	12. Chapter 12: Divide and Connect

Hey, sorry I haven't updated in a few days. Exams, family…they all build up after a while, you know?

Also, I know I kind of rushed the ending of Chapter 11, but trust me, I'm remedying it here.

* * *

Chapter 12: Divide and Connect

Zexion's PoV

Larxene was the first to attack; the minute Vexen stepped out of range, she lunged forward in a rabid fury. I just barely jumped out of the way before she swung several red, flaming knives at me, and I could barely get a look at my book through all the dodging she put me through.

"_Scum!"_

Well, three guesses what that red stuff does to people; talk about road rage! "Hey, Axel! Mind giving me a hand here?" I held up the cover of Retribution to block an incoming knife and looked over to him for support, but…he was having other problems. Marluxia and Demyx had decided to gang up on the pyro, and he was surrounded by about a dozen yellow Demyx clones. I saw him slice through a group of them to try and reach me, only for Demyx to strum his sitar and summon several more replacements.

"I'm a little busy myself kid! Watch!" His chakrams sputtered with some sparks, but once the sparks ignited they were drawn away. They were sucked towards Marluxia's glowing scythe, the orange glow glowing from its energy as Marluxia watched in interest.

"_NO! Don't look at them, look at __me__!"_

Larxene was not one to be ignored; as soon as she saw that my attention had wandered over to the others, she screamed and pulled a stunt I'd never seen before. She reared her head back, gathered all the red energy in her hands up in her face, and literally spit a huge mound of it at me.

I tried to back out of its trajectory, but I tripped on a pipe and wound up sprawled out on the ground, flat on my back with Retribution out of reach. The red acid hit me right in the stomach and burned right through my coat, making contact with my skin and eliciting a scream on my part. That red energy, that acid…it seared my skin for the longest time and it-it wouldn't go away! The pain was so much, I found myself turned on my side and curled in a ball before the red, satisfied with the damage it had done, slid of my stomach and burned a hole in the floor.

I wanted nothing more than to just lie there and whimper and recover, but Larxene wouldn't give me the chance. She flew above me, up against the ceiling, and started flinging more of her red energy knives at me. She wouldn't let up even for a second; it was all I could do to roll from side to side to keep from getting burned again.

"_Sit still, you vermin! __I__ have the power now, not you! You __will__ fear __me__!"_

Ok, that was evidence enough that if I didn't find a way to even the scales now, I wouldn't survive much longer: time to use that brain I always spoke so highly of. Think, Zexion, think: my book was only a few feet away from me. If I could just get it open…I made to roll away from it, and Larxene took the bait; she flung the knives that way as I made a break for the book. I had just managed to get it into my hands…when the woman dropped from the ceiling and pinned me to the ground.

"_Uh-uh. No __way__ are you getting off that easy. Prepare to burn, urchin, __burn__!"

* * *

_

Kairi's PoV

The colors…we haven't seen even the least of what they're capable of.

When I touched those crystals…I don't know, it's like the world opened up to me. That purple light, whatever it is…when I made contact it entered my heart, and next thing I knew I could see everything it was connected to. I could see Sora trying to help me, me letting the purple take over…and finally, off in the distance but still connected to it all, I saw a boy. He looked about my age, and the way the purple and all its fellow colors seemed to gravitate toward him…it was like he was the center of a huge web of energy.

But…even with all that energy, something was wrong. He was in pain, and somewhere close to him I felt a disturbance in the web; something was abusing all those colors, and the web was suffering because of it.

_Contact established. Requesting assistance._

_Assistance?_ I reached out, asking for an explanation. It wasn't hard; whoever was speaking, they were as much a part of the web as I was now.

_Three parts of us have been freed. Four remain untapped. We must all be unfettered if the Nexus is to reassume his mantle. You must find hosts to contain our remaining reserves and preserve us until he awakens._

I didn't understand, but…I trusted the voice. I know that sounds crazy, but in here…lies and double-meanings fell away. Energy was energy, life was life: things were what they were, nothing more or less. _Who am I looking for then? As hosts?_

_We require specific hearts, hearts which can fuel and be fueled by our energies. Fortunately, energies harmonious with ours have been sensed within our spectrum's vicinity. We require…_

And the next part I heard myself repeat, out in the real world; the energy web spoke through me.

_A little dark,_

_A little light,_

_A little schism,_

_A little fight._

_Now come to us._

The web was already speaking through me; I didn't shy away as it moved my hand and brought out my key, shifting its form in ways I'd never seen before. Knowing what I was doing was right, I hopped on my brand-new glider and flew down the alley, following the web's song to the dark-haired boy.

* * *

"_Uh-uh. No __way__ are you getting off that easy. Prepare to burn, urchin, __burn__!"_

Lucky I got there when I did; I burst through the room, bringing what looked like a big battle to a complete stop as everyone looked up at me in a mixture of awe and horror. Through all the damage and colors littering the room, I noticed three people in the crowd were glowing, the same way I was now.

_Your three parts?_

_Yes. Now approach the Nexus._

I guessed he meant the boy tied up in the center of the room, because I recognized him from the web; it was him. I jumped off the glider and calmly walked across the now still room to see him. I looked up at his face…and his eyes, overflowing with purple light, opened.

_Kairi. The light…_

_You hold a pure light in you, the kind no darkness can fracture or dilute. However, your heart fills with another force alongside it: love. Love for your home, your world…your closest fellow heart. The love for this one alone, this Sora, holds the power to see you through all that may ever trouble you and him, and connects you to him forever._

_Some view this as a weakness; this is not so. Embrace your love. Embrace its power._

_Will you accept this power?_

I smiled at its hesitance at asking; I didn't need a speech to be convinced. _I've already accepted. And I'll always accept it._

The light in the boy's eyes collected in a single beam, then extended out to my eyes, connecting us for what felt like forever. When I was finally released, I looked down and saw that I'd changed; my shirt sleeves, just white straps before, had turned pink and extended down to my wrists where they turned outward in points like flower petals. The purple light added to it by fanning out in ruffles all the way down my arms, along with extending my dress to my knees and fanning it out. I smiled; I looked like an actual princess. It felt…right.

Then I remembered: I had a job to do. That dark-haired boy, Nexus or not, he needed help, and I could help him better than anyone else right now. I turned to the other people and saw three things; a blond woman pinning down a scared looking kid, a smug looking creep holding some guy hostage, and a very familiar Nobody surrounded by yellow and orange goons. It didn't make any sense, but what does around here? I knew what I had to do.

"_Don't worry, Axel. I'm here to help."_ And I jumped into a newly exploding tempest of color.

* * *

Ok, in case anyone has caught on by now, I'd like to give some credit where it's due. If any of my readers have heard of Green Lantern (an American comic book character, for all my foreign fans), I draw a lot of the basic principles of the colors from concepts established there. Don't expect there to be a rule book of how they work in those comics though; in case Zexion hasn't been enough of an example, I take a lot of liberties.

Yeah, that little poem-esque thing was a late night epiphany I had not to long ago. Can anyone guess who the other "a little's" are?

Please review. Reviews to me are like peanuts to elephants; you know they never get them in the real world, but they still make a nice treat.


	13. Chapter 13: Progression and Salvation

Chapter 13: Progression and Salvation

* * *

Zexion's PoV

Who is that girl? How is it that all of a sudden, all these color-wielders are just popping out of the woodwork?

Well, whoever she was, she definitely knew how to make an entrance—and a distraction like her was exactly what I needed. While Larxene was trying to process this new target, I seized the opportunity to worm my way out of her grip—and smack her in the head with Retribution. The red pustules of energy covering her skin exploded on contact and charred my book's cover—an image that still makes my skin crawl to this day—but the hit did the trick; she flew across the room, and I had the standing advantage back. From there, it was a simple matter of flipping the book open to a certain section—a passage I'd copied out of Dante's Inferno—and pulling Larxene in, trapping the Nymph inside a particularly nasty ring of Hell.

Now, to the other girl. I ran over to the other side of the room, where she was flying around the yellow constructs attacking Axel. She was amazing; she flitted between Demyx-clones, and every time she touched one, her touch left a purple glow which quickly spread to take over the clone. The clone, now completely purple, would then go on to aid her in what seemed to be her ultimate goal: defending Axel.

I scooted my way through the clones to the center of the hurdle to talk to her. "Eh-Excuse me…who are you?"

"_My name's Kairi. Who are you?"_

Her voice…I had to be careful around her; Larxene's voice had the same resonance to it, who knows how the colors were affecting either of them. "…I'm Zexion…" I jumped to avoid getting hit by a yellow sitar: ok, no time to beat around the bush. "How are you using a color? What does it mean? I know red is anger and yellow is fear, but—"

"_I don't know everything about it; I'm just learning about it now…but the web says it's love. Love for my friends, and love for Sora."_ Sora, huh? That could be a problem, if he shows up. I pushed that thought aside though; cross the bridge when I come to it. _"I'm just holding it though, until the web can recover. But you…"_ After shooting out a purple dust to shield us, she turned to me and looked me right in the eyes. Her pupils were filled with a purple light, but…it wasn't the same as with the others. With her, the light was less of a blinder, and more of an iridescent lens for her to see through. _"You can help them. And him. I need you to do something; it will help everyone, believe me."_

I looked over at Axel for support; he looked about as confused as I was, but he just focused on taking out the yellow clones around us to avoid losing any steam. I guess I was on my own, and she hadn't done anything against me, so… "What do I have to do?"

"_Go to the Nexus, the one on the column. He'll give you what you need to help."_

Nexus, huh? Good, more information, I could work with that. Not to mention, odds were I'd probably learn more if I did as she said. Not even bothering to think about what could possibly go wrong with that plan, I simply nodded my head and leapt through the dust cloud, letting the dust shield me from any attacks from the clones. Once out of the thick of the fight, I ran over to the guy hanging from the column…and stopped. Something seemed…different. He was still hanging on the column, and he was still connected to all those pipes, but the pipes themselves…they'd changed. Some of them were completely empty, and the one that still had color in them had only three colors left; light blue, a dark purplish-blue, and green. The rest were just…gone. I looked up at the guy's face, hoping for answers…and then it happened.

His eyes opened, and out poured a flood of the dark blue, enveloping me in its cool light. The light sent a chill up my spine, but oddly enough it was more soothing than anything else, and once that feeling washed away the surprise I noticed that I could see things. More than that, I could see multiple places, from multiple perspectives all at once: Larxene fighting against her new captors in my book, Demyx and Marluxia taking down their targets…and Kairi, using the spark of purple inside her to defend the spark she felt in Axel. It didn't make any sense; I was still me, and yet I wasn't, I was them too. We were all connect by a large…web…

_Zexion. Ienzo. The dark…_

_Hello?_ This was it; this had to be whoever that guy was! _Are you him? Are you the guy who made all of this?_

_No. We are not the Nexus; he is what brings us together, and binds our power together. We require your assistance to maintain our state of existence and restore him to his proper role._

Wait…this couldn't be: were these the colors were talking to me? Every turn I made, it seemed to open more questions… _How can I help you all? I'll help however I can, if you'll tell me more about you later._

_We know, and we will. It is your request that proves that you truly are the one we need._

_What do you mean?_

_You are Zexion. Ienzo. The dark. You have been steeped in darkness for most of your life, and yet your heart remains untouched by its stain. It is your soul that knows the dark so well, and because of this…you contradict yourself. You exist to enshroud and deceive, yet you yearn to discover and reveal. Since stepping out of the dark, you have striven to illuminate the dark with a light only you possess: knowledge._

I took this in as best I could, turning the information over in my head. I still didn't understand; why was my heart of any worth to them? _So…my mind makes my heart what you need?_

_You understand with far more than just your mind, Ienzo. You know the darkness as well as the light, and you can understand people's hearts better than most. Your empathy, your warmth, your care for others is your strongest power, no matter what coldness you have been forced to endure._

_Will you accept this power?_

There is nothing that can measure to how I felt at that moment; I was right. For years, I had been trapped in a cold, emotionless Organization of merciless psychopaths—and I had been one of them. When my heart came back, I was scared that as much as getting it back had changed me, the experience was lost on the rest of them. The sheer terror of being faced with those people, people who wouldn't understand even when I made every effort to, I lost all emotional control; I flipped back and forth between the cold mask from before and the crazy, emotionally unstable infant I felt like. But now…there's more out there than just the hard, cold life I had in that castle. Everything I felt, everything I could see others feel…I was right, and that felt incredible.

_Yes, I accept. Thank you._

_Then it is yours. Say its name, and it is yours._

As I returned to my body, I felt a word enter my head, one that felt right, and I let it pass my lips.

"_Indigo."_

And I returned to the world, to find freedom and happiness for us all.

* * *

Vexen's PoV

I'd been holding back from the battle for most of its duration—I am a researcher, not some ruffian street fighter—when I saw the next flash. Taking that idiot Gambler back in my arm, I flew around my peons' petty scuffle with the girl and the pyromaniac to see what had transpired near the subject. What I saw, I believed to be without question the beginning of my work's undoing.

My own apprentice, Zexion, had made contact with the boy, and he'd taken some of his power as his own. I suspected that they had learned how to take the power—the girl's sensational light displays were enough to elicit concern—but if Zexion's transformation was any proof, the tides were quickly turning out of my favor.

My once-prized pupil's robes had changed entirely from its usual black to what my studies had designated the "indigo" color. Beyond that, the indigo light had manifested itself as a set of goggles over his eyes and a long staff in his left hand, opposite his usual reading material—but that wasn't the end of it. Behind him, the holster containing the subject had been drained; now, only the "blue" and "green" forces continued to flow through its arteries.

"No…you fools!" I rushed back to my remaining puppets, who were continuing their assault on the other two interlopers. I raised my shield, and in response the both of them stopped all their efforts and turned to receive their instructions.

"Marluxia! Demyx! Switch to the defensive, defend the subject! They intend to drain it!" It was imperative that I keep the power under my control; it was the only thing keeping the subject contained!

* * *

Well, two down, two to go. That leaves "schism" and "fight": any guesses?

Please review. Reviews to me are like leaves to trees; they help bring in new material to build something better.


	14. Chapter 14: Soft Light, Bright Light

Hey, power outage out here, but I'm back! And I promise, I'm still writing!

Also, just because I saw some of his work for the first time in a while recently, I 100% recommend that everyone reading this go to the nearest library or bookstore and ask for something written by Neil Gaiman: the man is a genius!

* * *

Chapter 14: Soft Light, Bright Light

Zexion's PoV

The indigo color is…interesting, if nothing else. It isn't big and flashy like the others; it isn't bursting at the seams with raw energy. It's a bit more…subtle than that.

That was my first impression of it anyway. When I finally realized that I was back in the real world, I was a little underwhelmed; I had expected my body to be filled with some unearthly, intense surge of energy. Instead, I just felt…calm.

_Don't be disappointed; I may not be as big, but I am far more capable._

That was strange…I wasn't in the web anymore, so why could I still hear it? _You're still here? How?_

_Not entirely; I am the indigo, a part of the Color Collective. I hold most of the collective together by nature, I alone maintain coherency when separated. On your left!_

Acting on reflex, I raised my arm in defense—along with the sleek new pole the indigo had made for me—to block what turned out to be a massive wave of yellow energy. The wave was huge, spanning the entire length of the room…but it never hit me. The staff shaped all the energy into a single line before pulling it into its long frame, leaving only a shocked Demyx across from me.

_Wow…the indigo—I mean, you—can cancel out other colors?_

_I can do much more. Now watch._

I did as it said as the energy staff pulled out of itself a new strain of yellow—one with an indigo hue—and fashioned it into a long whip-like strand. The strand then twisted around Demyx's leg and pulled it out from under him, effectively knocking him off balance.

_Do you see now? I am the indigo. I am empathy and understanding, the connection between two hearts. I can form solid objects like the others, but my primary function is to make that connection; as long as the host—you—can identify the other's colors, I can bring them forth for your use at your discretion._

_I see…_ I did my best to keep a level head, but honestly? I was over the moon. The indigo, if I could keep it with me, was the key to it all; it was the perfect tool for separating and analyzing the colors' effects and reactions. The doors this could open…but not now; we had other things to worry about. Stuffing Retribution back in my cloak for the time being, I took the staff in both hands and jumped forward to the already-recovering Demyx. It was going to be a fun ride testing the indigo's limits.

* * *

Sora's PoV

Man, I cannot stand this world. It's too dark, there aren't any people, and it's always crawling with Heartless and Nobodies!

It's a good thing I learned that glider trick though; I managed to fly past most of them up to the castle. I think my Keyblade must have been homing in on Kairi or something, because I know I wasn't driving the thing; it turned around the halls on a dime, and I had to crouch down and hold on for dear life. It just kept going and going, deeper into the castle than I'd ever been…and then it stopped and sent me flying.

A well-timed Dodge Roll saved me, but it still scared the heck out of me. "Yikes, what gives…?" I looked back at my Keyblade; it was already folding back into its normal shape, and once it was done it dropped down in front of a metal door. I ran over, picked up the key, and slid the door open…opening the biggest can of worms I've ever seen.

The room was completely trashed, and it looked like everyone inside was hard at work causing more damage. I couldn't believe what I was seeing; they were everywhere, shooting colors at each other like fireworks: yellow, orange, dark-blue…and purple. I snapped into focus and ran inside, knocking aside a few wild blasts and trying desperately to find—

"_Sora! Over here!"_

I didn't even get the chance to find out who it was before Kairi swooped in, lifted me by my shoulders, and flew us to the center column where this guy I hadn't seen before was hanging. Setting me down, she danced around me in this beautiful dress, weaving a purple cocoon around us and the column. She then raced over and…and she did something that, despite all my feelings, I still hadn't worked up the courage to do; she kissed me.

It…I…I couldn't even understand what we were doing for a minute. For half a second, it was like…there was just Kairi, and me, and the two of us were closer than I'd ever dared to be before. I could feel those crystals growing where Kairi's hands held mine, but I didn't even care; we were just…melting into each other, and I felt safe and alive and warm…

Then, I heard Roxas starting to laugh in the back of my head, and I came back to reality and pulled away. I brought up a hand to wipe off my mouth, while Roxas was having the time of his life enjoying my embarrassment.

_Ahahahahahaha...! Oh, oh man Sora, no offence, but it's about time!_

_Shut up, Roxas! Just because you get to see all of this, doesn't mean I want you offering your opinions! I get enough of that from Donald and Goofy…_

"_Sora? Are you ok?"_

Oh no, Kairi! I looked up at her, hoping that she wasn't too upset…but she wasn't. Through all that purple light, she just looked…happy. She had that small smile, the kind she has when she's trying to see if I'm as happy as she is, but besides that I couldn't tell what she was thinking at all. She just stepped closer and took my hand slowly, like she didn't know how to make it better. Heck, I didn't know how to make it better.

"_Is it Roxas again?"_

Kairi always knew me better than anyone. "…yeah. Yeah, it's Roxas. But that doesn't mean…I mean, I liked…"

"_It's okay, Sora. We've got time."_ She leaned in, and I thought she was going to kiss me again…but she just wrapped her arms around me and brought me close; I finally relaxed and did the same. _"I'm sorry if that was too much. The purple stuff, the love color…it's making my head really fuzzy; I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since I let it in. That's what this power does: brings love into the real world."_

I didn't get it, but I didn't have to. All that mattered was that we were here, and for the moment we were safe. "Don't worry, Kairi; I'm gonna fix everything. I'll help Roxas, and then we'll be together again."

"_Roxas…I can't imagine this must be like for him, and for you too."_ She looked up into my eyes, the purple light bobbing in the center of her eyes. _"You know, I met him once? It was only for a minute, but I could tell: he's so much like you, and yet he's __nothing__ like you. I don't know how you live with him in there, there's such a…divide…like a schism…"_

Suddenly she jumped back out of my arms and flew to the column with the guy. He looked a lot like Roxas, but with black hair, and there were a bunch of tubes coming out of him filled with blue and green stuff. _"Sora, come over here. I need to show you something, it'll help. I promise."_ I ran over, and she took hold of my shoulders and pointed me towards him. I looked up at his face—just like Roxas'—and his eyes opened, letting loose this huge blast of sky-blue light.

_Sora. Roxas. The schism…_

_You have seen much in your short lives. Sora, your childhood was ended out of necessity as you entered a war greater than any one person. Roxas, your entire existence has been the product of this war, and despite all of your efforts you have been little more than a pawn in its trials. In both cases, you have witnessed events and betrayals which, in most hearts, would inspire enough rage and cynicism to spread a dark stain on all you would touch._

_Instead…you have found hope. In the face of the deepest darkness, you have found a way to perceive even the faintest of lights, and this light will see you and your friends through to what is on the other side. It is a power that most ignore, some recognize…and a special few embrace._

_Will you accept this power?_

I still didn't understand; this power felt like light, but…it seemed different, somehow. Still, everything it said felt right, and I wanted to accept, but…it wasn't just my decision. _Whattaya think, Roxas? Should we accept?_

He was quiet for a while, but he came back with a good response. _Kairi seems to think we should, and it doesn't look like there are any risks, so…yeah, I accept._

_Me too then._

The blue light faded away, and once it did, I noticed my outfit had changed. I had on a black coat, like the one Roxas used to wear, except all the metal zippers were the same sky-blue color. I looked down, and I nearly jumped a mile; I had two Keyblades out, Oblivion and Oathkeeper, each coursing with blue electricity. The same kind Roxas used…I had to find a mirror!

"_Relax Sora, you're still you. The blue color must've found the keys inside your heart."_

Kairi. Good, at least she understood what was going on. _"What's happened to me? To all of us?"_

"_The light and dark met, Sora, and they split to make all of this."_

I wanted to ask Kairi more, but we didn't have anymore time—something big and yellow smashed its way through our cocoon, and an all too familiar face rushed over the broken remains. _Roxas, is that who I think it is?_

_Yep: one of my old __buddies__ from the Organization, Demyx. Guess that tugging feeling did a lot more than wake __me__ up._

I smiled; if this was going where I thought it was going, then I definitely knew what to do next. Heck, I spent years doing it. _Wanna take'em out?_

_You read my mind._

And I did what I do best; I jumped into the fray, ready to do whatever it takes to reach the good at the end of it all.

* * *

And we have one more to go! Has anyone figured out who the "fight" is?

Also, for those of you who want to know who the guy on the column is, you'll be happy to know that he will be revealed within the next two chapters! An origin will follow soon after, depending on how he's recieved.

Please review. Reviews to me are like Luke to Gilmore Girls; they add a nice little extra to it all, something to change the mood enough to lead to something better.


	15. Chapter 15: Lost Loves and Found Powers

Chapter 15: Lost Loves and Found Powers

* * *

Axel's PoV

"_Your flame will be mine, VIII. It will all be mine!"_

In case everyone hasn't figured it out, let me say this once and for all: I hate Marluxia! He's always gotta be the top dog, no matter what's going on or what the stakes are, and he cheats his way up there every chance he gets!

That was the only reason I hadn't been able to take these losers out yet; I'd been stuck dealing with Mr. "Graceful Assassin" this whole time. I swear, I didn't know what that orange color was that it let him suck the fire power out from under me (my guess was greed or something, he was definitely obsessed with getting more power), but I was not gonna let up until that bastard fell!

"_Come now, Axel; surely you must have more to give. Give it to me, or I'll have no choice but to take it!"_ He swung his scythe forward, but I dove in time to miss his blow. Great thing about the guy; his scythe had a long reach, but it was pathetically slow and as unwieldy as weapons get. That was good, meant I had two options: either move in close range and slice him to pieces the old fashioned way, or duck beyond his reach and hope I could get a decent fire blast through. I tried for door number two, but it was useless; the second I got up a spark, the flame would just get absorbed right into Marluxia's scythe where it'd just putter out of sight.

"Aw c'mon, just die already!"

I tried to shoot again, one after another, but he just kept sucking them up. He started advancing towards me like some grim reaper, ready to end the farce and just take my life right then and there. He probably could've too; that orange light had been draining me right from the start, and I'd been fighting for what seemed like forever…until he finally came right up and smacked me to the ground with the blunt end of his blade.

"_You have much spirit in you, VIII. Your will to live, to fight, is astounding. But it's not yours anymore: it's __mine__."_ He rose his scythe up over his head, preparing for my inevitable death blow. Well, g'bye Roxas; I'm sorry I didn't get to see you one last time. I would've traded that for anything. _"__Give it to me__!"_

I turned away and prepared myself for the pain…until I heard a clang of metal. I looked up…and there he was.

There, standing above me, was him. I couldn't see his face—he had his hood up—but it had to be him. He was wearing his coat, his sneakers, holding Marluxia back with his Keyblades. He stood over me like an angel of light, unflinching in the presence of the reaper, and…I just knew. This wasn't a trick, this wasn't an illusion. This was Roxas.

Before I could get up the guts to ask him, Roxas sprang into action. He lunged forward against Marluxia's efforts, throwing the Assassin against the nearest wall. He then brought his keys together, holding them the way a kid might hold a heavy gun for the first time, and shot several little bullets of blue light around Marluxia, effectively pinning him to the wall. Marluxia looked completely shocked, while Roxas just bowed his head and started muttering something to himself.

"…Really? ...That's what they teach…? ...ok, opposite colors, this better work…" He stood up straight, raised both of his keys up…and brought them crashing together in an X-shaped cross above his head. Immediately, there was an explosion of blue light, so bright I had to squeeze my eyes shut just to get rid of the burning sensation. It took forever to get my eyes to stop spotting, but when I finally looked back…it seemed to have done the trick. Marluxia was out cold, and the orange aura that had covered his entire body was now just a little spark at the end of his scythe.

Roxas was completely still for a moment there, like he was trying to process what had just happened. Afterward, he took off his hood, finally confirming it for me: it was him, no question about it. I…I wanted to run over, tell him how much I missed him…but then…

"_Huh. Guess I can drive now, right?"_

And at that, he faded away. I mean, his body was still there, but his face…it changed. His chin sank slightly inward, his hair grew and darkened…and next thing I knew, I was staring Sora straight in the face.

"_Yeah, I guess we both can."_

…No. No, I couldn't accept this. This couldn't be Sora, this was Roxas, my Roxas, I'd found Roxas again. I couldn't take it anymore! I jumped up in a fury and pushed Sora against the wall, right next to Marluxia.

"WHERE IS HE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?"

"_Axel, hold on, it's me!"_

"Sora" hadn't even opened his mouth before he changed back to Roxas' face. He looked so much like him…no, it was a trick, another stupid mind game!

"No! Don't give me that, show your real face!"

"_This __is__ my real face, Axel, why don't you believe—"_ He was crying, but I didn't care; he was gonna tell me the truth whether he liked it or not.

"Your just another imposter, just like the last one! Now you tell me where he is or I'll—"

"_Axel no, I'm not an imposter, it's really __me__, I'm—"_

"I'll show you pain like you've never seen before, you'll burn, I swear, you'll burn—"

"_THE WINNER STICK!"_

And I stopped yelling. Everything just went dead silent. I…I didn't even know…how to process what that meant. Roxas was sobbing now, big tears running down his soft cheeks. He could barely breathe through all the sobbing, but he kept on talking, trying to show me the truth.

"_I…I gave you an ice cream stick, the last day I was here, from when we ate ice cream on the clock tower, remember? I—I got a stick one time, when I ate it alone, and it said 'WINNER' on it, and the lady at the store said that it meant I could get a free ice cream. But…but I didn't wanna free ice cream, so I thought, maybe, I could give it to you. And then I forgot about it, for months and months, and when I left, I thought I'd give it to you then, but I couldn't find you, so I left it in your room. I…I wanted you to have it, because…because you were the only person I was close to there! You-You didn't __ignore__ me, or __manipulate__ me, you were __everything__ to me! Please, I'm __me__, I'm __Roxas__! You have to believe me…"_

I knew the stakes here; I knew that we were in the middle of a battle for our lives here, and that we were in danger every minute we stood there defenseless. I knew that Roxas should've been the last thing on my mind in that place, and that I was crazy to even be wasting time on this, but…it didn't matter. None of it did. It was just me, and him, and with a little luck, everything I'd been searching for. I reached into my coat with one hand, holding Roxas in place with the other, and pulled out of a pocket I rarely used…a wooden stick, shaped like a tongue depressor. On one side, printed in faded brown ink, was a single word: WINNER.

"_Yes Axel, that's it. I'm here now. I'm—"_

He didn't get to finish; I let him go and brought him into me, hugging him with everything I had. He hugged me back, which only made me hold him closer; I didn't want to let him go. "I missed you, Rox."

"_I missed you too."_ He pulled out of our embrace, smiling as he wiped away the dried tears on his cheeks. _"So…how do you like the new clothes?"_

Heh, good old Roxas; he always knew how to make me laugh with something simple like that. "I like'em, they look good. Match your eyes." The blue did suit him. Wait, blue… "So, you use the colors too now?"

He blushed. _"Just for the last five minutes, and I'm just holding it until that guy wakes up…"_ He then jumped up and grabbed me by the shoulders with this sense of urgency. _"Axel, Kairi told me that the last color needs to be held by someone who has 'a little fight'. That's you!"_

"What do you mean?"

"_Just go to the guy on the column, he'll explain. I'll cover for you."_ He ran around me and bounded into the fray, successfully clearing a path to the column. I would've asked more, but hey, it's Roxas; I'd trust him with my life. I ran across the room at full speed to the guy, and when I reached him his eyes opened, filling the room with a bright green light.

_Axel. The fight…_

_Your will to live, your inner strength—_

_Ok, I get it. You need me to hold this green stuff, right? Well, I need your help too. Think you can lend me a hand?_

I understand I wasn't being nice. I wasn't trying to; Roxas was back, and if this guy had as much power as he seemed to, then I was going to do whatever it took to make sure Roxas made it out ok.

_I see. Please, state your request and I will offer aid as best as I am able.

* * *

_

Vexen's PoV

It was all falling apart. All my work, blown to pieces.

The traitors had somehow pulled in non-Organization cohorts—not a factor I had considered in my original hypothesis. How could I not have anticipated such a development? These people, the ones who listen to their idiotic, infantile hearts…they'll be the end of us all.

I tried to stop him, but it was far too late; the green had been unleashed, and with it the subject. Almost immediately after the green had been transferred, the subject dropped to the ground in a heap…and began to glow with a pure white light. That boy drew in all the light and color around him, disabling my minions as well as the traitors. Even Larxene, who had been locked away in Zexion's book, was torn out of its pages and forced to return her red light. The colors ran together and joined with the subject, increasing his energy levels exponentially until he finally awoke from his slumber and stood up to face us.

The miserable cretin looked like a character out of one of Zexion's laughable Indiana Jones books: a brown trench coat, beige pants and collared shirt, a coarse black belt. He appeared to channel the colors and their power through metal gauntlets on his hands. The gauntlets connected to wires which coursed up his sleeves and to a glowing green dome protruding from his chest and through his shirt. I could only watch in horror as he turn to me, raising a gloved hand accusingly.

"_A'ight, yeh bludger, enough of the ear-bashin'—f'you, it's carkin' time."

* * *

_

In case any of you are having your eyes pop out of your skulls right now, yes I did mean to write column-boy speaking that way. It'll make more sense as it goes along, I promise.

Well, I should probably take the time to say this—this arc is most likely going to come to a close within the next five chapters. I know, I'm having fun with this too, but I've learned from a previous story (see A New Light on my profile) that if you take something too far for too long, it slowly turns to crap. Still, I am considering making a loosely connected sequel, or maybe even a direct sequel: let me know if you think it's a good idea.

Please review. Reviews to me are like birthdays to immortals; you can never have too many. :)


	16. Chapter 16: Leaving the Past Behind

Ok everybody; remember what I said about a possible sequel? Well, I've thought of a bunch of great new ideas for what it/they could be. Tell me, what do you think of these ideas:

Demyx, living on a newly inhabited and liberated World That Never Was?

Roxas and Axel, adjusting to a new, less violent lifestyle?

Zexion, delving deeper into the colors' properties?

I'm toying around with all of them, but any feedback on what you'd like for me to do with them is greatly appreciated. Let me know!

Also, warning: get ready for something particularly horrific and gory. Really, the mental image scared me. Don't say I didn't warn you…

* * *

Chapter 16: Leaving the Past Behind

Zexion's PoV

"_A'ight, yeh bludger, enough of the ear-bashin'—f'you, it's carkin' time."_

…Alright then. Who is this guy? The indigo spoke so highly of him; he was the Nexus, the thing that brought all this power together, and yet…I'm not going to lie, he sounded like something out of the seedier parts of Sherlock Holmes. Still…there was something about him…maybe it was all the colors that he had taken in, but he had an overpowering presence. All of his colors came together to form a large and constantly shifting aura, and his charisma…his very allure and existence was magnetic, like the gravity of an entire planet, and it was all we could do to simply stare in amazement and awe. It wasn't like we could do anything else; when he woke up he took the colors back, and all the powers and outfits that went with them.

Of course, Vexen wasn't quite as impressed with the spectacle; he threw Luxord to the side like a rag doll and flew right up to the color guy's face. "What are you prattling on about boy? I am your master, you belong to me! Now get back in your restraints this instant, or I'll—"

"_You'll what, mate? You'll call yeh little cobber-friends in and mess me up good, right? Well guess what, mistah? Yeh __dead-set__ t'be wrong."_ The minute he opened his mouth, he had Vexen hooked. The Chilly Academic, who'd always prided himself on his objective and intellectual perspective, was trapped, so ensnared in that spell of manipulation and power…that he failed to notice the wisps of indigo gathering along the guy's right hand. _"'Cause see, you've fo'gotten a tiny part o' the puzzle, that thing that makes me so impo'ant in the first place: I've got it all. Right here, right now, I've got the __fair__-__dinky__-__di__thing__. I've got the powah, and you?"_ He raised his arm, now transfigured into a glowing, contorted indigo claw. _"Yeh __done__."_ And he plunged the arm straight into Vexen's chest.

Vexen screamed at a pitch higher than I'd ever heard before, but it didn't even faze him—he just began laughing, practically cackling as waves of indigo and yellow radiated from his eyes. Vexen's chest began to glow a soft light right where the claw made impact, and soon the light began to split into little yellow sparks which seemed to flock to the indigo hand.

"_So __that's__ what's in yeh heart, mate? I shudd've guessed—yeh a coward, yeh are. And all that time, denying yeh heart's powah? That'd be yeh biggest mistake—without these little trinkets, yeh might's well be a bitzer wit'out teeth: useless an' rabid."_ He then set his face stone cold and looked Vexen in the eye as the Academic struggled against his grip. _"Don' think I don' know about yeh other experiments either; I see it all in there. Yeh sick: yeh've killed yeh fair share o' people t'get where you are. Well, that settles it f'me: yeh've done too much harm, and someone's gotta stop yeh b'fore yeh wreck all the worlds up. So…"_ Right then, all those yellow sparks shot back into Vexen's body and… and they…well… _"Like I said, carkin' time."_

They tore him apart. Whatever that guy did to them, they ripped through Vexen's body at every angle possible—but they weren't just sparks anymore. No, they'd become giant, dark, yellow spikes, piercing organs and flesh and bones as they ripped the very life out of him. He didn't even have a chance to react to what was being done to him—a spike drove up through his head and burst it open before he even had the chance to scream. Just like that, my malicious, conniving, brilliant genius of a mentor was gone—a victim of his own fear and cruelty.

I remember seeing that image, watching the blood flow freely into a growing puddle below the two of them while he placed Vexen on the floor as best he could. Then, it was as though the world had slowed to a near halt, and I was running. Running to the man who'd taught me so much, to the man who'd enslaved me in this darkness, to the man who, despite everything, I still couldn't stand the idea of losing him forever. It's a funny feeling, losing a person like that; your mind knows they were bad and wrong, but your heart still cries out at their pain. Your pain…

Then, I began to take in more of what was around me. I saw the guy's face, losing its colors as the surge of power began to fade. I saw someone running forward to hold me back, grabbing on to my arms and legs…and I heard a scream: a long, hoarse, terrible scream that sounded as if it had just seen its world end. I knew that voice—it was mine.

I'd lost the one person who, even in the darkness, still managed to show me some sort of truth. How do you go on after that? How does the heart cut through the pain and contradictions and doubt, to find their way back to the path? He was my father, he was my prison; he was everything that I had been trying to escape in all of this. He was Vexen. And now he was gone.

* * *

Axel's PoV

Dammit, why'd he have to do that? Don't get me wrong, Vexen had to go, but c'mon…there were kids there. Demyx was staring blankly and clutching his sitar tightly, Roxas was phasing in and out of his and Sora's faces while Kairi was burying her face in their chest, and Zexion…well, I'm sure he's told you what happened with him.

I tell ya, he fought like hell against my grip; it took everything I had to keep him from running up and tearing that new kid apart. He was like a madman, tearing at my arms around his chest and thrashing all over the place.

"NO! Let me go! He can't be dead, I have to help him! Please, you have let me—"

"It's too late, Zex! He's gone, dead; he can't hurt you or anyone else again!"

"NO! YOU. DON'T. UNDER. STAND!" In a last desperate lunge he broke free of me, pulled out his book, and started slamming it against the different crystals sticking out of Vexen's body. "He was brilliant! He was a genius, he taught me everything! Get him out, get him out right now! GET HIM OUT!"

"No gettin' him outta there, mate. He's gone bung, f'keeps."

It was him—the color kid. He'd stepped back from Vexen once he'd put him down, and now he stepped up to put a hand on Zexion's shoulder and turn him away from the whole mess. I guess he must've calmed down a bit; the glowing colors were gone, nothing left but a small flicker from that weird dome on his chest. I half expected Zex to turn and jump on him, and I was all ready to pull him off…but Zex froze, and started crying like crazy.

"…Why? Why is it all…happening this way? I don't know…"

"S'alright, mate; I know y'mean well. Colors like yeh, Indy especially." He closed his eyes for just a moment, letting a single wave of indigo pass out of his right gauntlet and into Zexion's body. It seemed to help—all the tension Zex had built up over the past few minutes seemed to melt away. "Jus' when you were getting' outta the dark…yeh still conflicted, over the role he played in yeh craziness, aren't yeh? Lemme tell yeh somethin', mate—yeh need t'let that go. That kinda darkness is only gonna hurt yeh more in the end, and if I have anythin' t'say about it, yeh gonna do great once yeh outta here, ok?"

Zex didn't get the chance to answer; he collapsed in the color kid's arms from all the strain. He stumbled under Zex's weight, and when I ran up to take Zex from him he fell down on one knee and put a hand to his head. "Hey, you alright guy?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm just bonzer here. Used a little too much color, s'all." He looked up at me, and his face gave me the creeps; he looked just like Roxas, but with dark hair and colorless eyes. "I might need a bit o' help, getting' back t'the bush."

"The Bush? Never been to that world—care to share?" I didn't care if he was the king of color; a guy kills an Organization member and knocks my friend out with barely a touch, I start asking questions.

"Heh, where d'yeh think, mate? I'm from Down Under, the Outback. Australia: that y'better memorize."

* * *

Ack, a real world place! I wonder where this could go…props to anyone who can guess why I chose to make him Aussie.

Sorry if this chapter seems a bit shaky; I always have a hard time solidifying an OC's character without having it blur with the others. Let me know if this is the case, and I'll stay on the look out for it.

Please review. Reviews to me are like acne cream to pizza-faced teenagers; you just feel all self-conscious and anxious until you get some.


	17. Chapter 17: The Keyhole

Hello again! I'm glad people have responded positively to my sequel ideas, I'll let you all know when I start working on them!

Also, a little thought: I wrote a fanfic for Pokémon a few months ago, but only got about 6 chapters into it before I put it aside for other KH endeavors. Recently, I was asked to continue the story, so could some of you maybe take a look at it? It's not as good as this story yet—I've improved a lot since then, as you can probably tell—but I could probably still do well with it. Let me know!

* * *

Chapter 17: The Keyhole

Axel's PoV

"A'ight cobbers, first thing's first; we've gotta take this here house o' horrors down t' the ground."

"What?"

"I know y'heard me, mate." He lunged forward, landing on a green slide that appeared out of nowhere. He skated down the thing like he'd been doing it all his life, landing right in front of the column he'd just been hanging from earlier. I guess his release hadn't shut the machinery completely off, because the empty pipes were shifting and snaking around the column to fill the hole its ex-host had left behind. Weird though…as hard as we'd all fought to get him out, the kid went right to it and stuck his head and arms in the hole, looking around inside like a mechanic inside a new Corvette. "Lemme see…now, I know I saw the bugger in here…took a lotta hard yakka t'find it…"

Find what? Why was he out to destroy the castle? This guy did nothing but give half-hearted explanations, I wanted answers! I gently placed Zexion down on the ground where he wouldn't get hurt, then pulled the kid out of his hole and held him square in front of me. "Ok, first of all? Before you start destroying anything, you'd better give us some answers; who the hell are you? And for future reference, if you've gotta plan, you'd better tell the people around you first; we're not mind readers. Got it memorized?"

He looked really out of it at first—that indigo stuff had started oozing out of his eyes and gloves in a cloud—but he caught on fast enough and refocused. "Right, right, m'name—call me Spectro. Y'Axel, right? Flurry o' Dancin' Flames an' all that?"

Great: we know nothing about him, but he knows everything about us. "How do you know that?"

"S'colors, mate; I've been takin'em in f'years now, an' when they mix wit' other hearts they tell me about it. They seem t'like mosta yah, 'specially Zex 'n that kid wit' the two head-spaces. Y'know, the one yeh seem so keen on keepin' around?"

Two heads? "Roxas: you mean Roxas, right? Is that what's wrong with him, he's—wait, quit changing the subject! Why are you talking about destroying the castle?"

Out of the blue, he just shoved me away and crossed his arms. "'Cause this place shouldn't be floatin' around in the first place! Don't yeh get it? I'm the reason those ear-bashin' bludgers upstairs are kickin' again, I've gotta make sure I stop'em b'fore they hurt anyone else!"

"I get that, but I'm not going to let you do anything until you tell me what the hell is going on! I mean, why should I even trust you?"

"'Scuse me, fire bug? 'Case y'haven't noticed, we've made a big ruckus down 'ere; we don' do somethin' now, they're gonna come down an' all hell's gonna break loose!"

"And we'll deal with them then! Until then, just slow down and—"

"HEY!"

That was all it took to get us to stop yelling. I looked over, and there, using his backbone for the first time since I knew him…was Demyx. He was wringing his hands around the neck of his sitar, but he still managed to stand strong. "Can I say something?"

He stepped to the side and motioned to the others; they were in bad shape. Marluxia was leaning up against the wall, wincing in pain as Larxene cried into his lap, while Kairi was trying—and failing—to hold Roxas still as his body physically fought the constant shifting between his two personas. "Hey, I get that you want answers, we all do, but...we're gonna get creamed if Xem and Xiggy come down here, so…can we just get outta here now? Maybe put the explanations on hold?"

Damn…if that slacker Demyx was the voice of reason, then I really must've gotten turned around. The kid—Spectro—looked to me for the go ahead, so I relented and nodded for him to go ahead. He immediately jumped back to the hole in the column, reached in, and pushed something in with a chunk sound. When he pulled his hand out, the glove had changed shape—each finger ended with a different long, twisty prong, which then melted back into his hand.

"Ok, m'Pickblades've done most've th'dirty work—which one've you's gotta Keyblade?" Roxas took a small step forward, stopping on Sora's face and calling out Sora's key. "A'ight, whichever one you are, time t'let it loose."

He nodded, and then raised his arm shakily to point the Keyblade at the column. The key emitted a spark of light, and in reply the shape of a Keyhole formed in the hole. The light shot from in the key into the Keyhole and split into the different colors, filling the hole before it finally dissipated with a chunk of the lock.

"Wuh…Wow. Never done that before…Nice." Roxas' face finally came back and smiled…before he dropped Sora's key and fell to the ground. I didn't even get the chance to see if he was alright; the second he hit the ground everything started shaking, like the whole castle was falling apart.

"Well, seems I had a bonzer ideer f'once. C'mon cobbers, time t'split!" The Spectro kid spun some green surfboard out of the colors in his gloves, jumped on, scooped up Roxas, and made a clean turn out the door towards the front entrance. Kairi went running after them, and for a half a moment, I thought about doing the same, but…I couldn't. Zexion was still here, I couldn't just leave him…

"Go on, get out of here!" Demyx—he strummed his sitar, and out of it flowed a bunch of water that shifted around Zex's sleeping body and lifted him in a small twister. "I'll take care of him." He obviously saw I wasn't convinced. "Hey, I get it about as much as you do. Now get outta here before I get my head on straight again!"

Well, can't really argue with that logic can you? Still, I thought, maybe getting the new heart had changed too…

Suddenly there was a loud boom, and the floor tilted under us: no time to debate. I called out the chakrams and blasted out into the hall as fast as I could, praying as hard as I could that I was making the right choice. I swear, if this didn't work out, we were going to have a lot more than the higher numbers to worry about…

* * *

Man, that took forever! Did that chapter work out ok? I don't know why, but this one was really hard…aw well, once I make it to the sequels I'll be ok.

Please review. Reviews to me are like Kurt to Glee: as awful as some moments are, they're sorely needed to make the whole experience worth it.


	18. Chapter 18: Spectro's Past

Agh, stupid viruses! Sorry, but my computer looks like something out of the 70's now because safe mode is the only thing I can use…

Also, sorry these updates keep taking so long, I've been doing a lot lately: lead role in a play, and 6th place in a Speech and Debate tournament! Still, I haven't forgotten about all of you; I promise, answers are here now! I've put a lot of loose plot points out there, believe me I know that, but I'm wrapping all that up here and now.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 18: Spectro's Past

Zexion's PoV

"Uhh…what…what happened?"

"Zexion? Hey guys, he's waking up!"

Who was that? As I drifted back to consciousness, everything was so foggy…like my eyes wouldn't focus. For a moment, all I saw was a figure above me, glowing an uneven mixture of blue and yellow…and then it all simply clicked into place. The world snapped back into a scene my mind could visually comprehend, and immediately I recognized the figure—Demyx.

In an instant, those fighter instincts I'd gained in the Organization kicked in and I rolled forward onto my feet. Keeping on the offensive, I motioned forward to call for my new indigo staff…to no effect. There wasn't a spark or wave or anything—I couldn't get it to appear. I could see Axel, Roxas and Kairi coming towards us from somewhere, but it didn't matter—they didn't have a chance at helping me, and if Demyx still had his yellow then I was, in a word, screwed.

But before I had the chance to panic or question anything, I heard a voice in my head. "Don' sweat it mate; the indy's safe— I just took it back, s'all." Of course he did—so much for my chance at a new study on this color theory. Still, that didn't seem to explain everything… "Hey, Spacy—turn around an' check ou' m'handiwork."

I did as he said…and all I could think was, woah.

I don't know how I missed it before, but we weren't in the castle anymore; on the contrary, we were standing at the edge of the Dark City, where the asphalt was split into large floating chunks over a glowing pit. That pit…I knew that place…I looked up, expecting to see the castle, but it wasn't there anymore. All that was left in its place was a swarm of spinning colors.

"Yeh don' have t'worry about those Organization bludgers anymore, mate." The colors up above began to fade, revealing the color guy as he descended to the pavement in front of me. "See? Y'old buddy Spectro took care o' it. The whole bloomin' castle's gone bung f'good—yeh've got nunthin' t'worry about."

I…didn't know what to say. Except… "Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me personally? The others mean well too, what makes me so special?"

He seemed hesitant, like he was trying to come up with something to pacify me, but I stared him down until he finally sighed and told me, "Look, I get what yeh goin' through, ok? You 'n me, we're the same: we're just tryin' t'make sense of a world tha's a lot more'n others wanna admit."

He reached his hands out together and slowly spread them out, letting tendrils of green spill out of his gauntlets. The green spread into a thin horizontal surface between us, then spiked—rising at various points to form an image of a valley. Inside the valley were several small tents, with little figures moving around them like ants.

"See that? Tha's my world, Australia. At least, tha's how I remember it—I haven't the foggiest idea what happened t'the place after I left. Back then, we dinnit get much company from th'outside worlds; we were mostly drifters, like nomads, y'know? Most o' the drongos out there wrote us off as a backwater planet, but we still had a'ways o' gettin' things done—we lived our lives, the rest o' the universe lived theirs, we got by.

"'Course, that all changed when those bludgers from Radiant Garden showed up." He released a single spark of yellow, shaped it into something reminiscent of a Gummi Ship, and let it drift down in the center of the tents. "They came in an' started tryin' t' 'educate' us in their technology an' their magic an' their 'Keyblades'. An' none o' us wanted t'get involved…'cept me."

The scene in front of me zoomed in to one of the tents, showing a miniature version of Spectro shaking hands with…Ansem—the real one. He was visibly younger than I remembered him, with a clean-shaven face and shorter hair, but it was definitely him. "M'village named chose me t'go back 'n forth between them and the off-worlders, seein' as I was th'closest thing we had to an ambassador—m'dad was the town chief, an' I was pretty well versed in politic an' what-not. They had me meet wi' one o' their Keyblade wielders—Eraqus, nice guy, you'd like'em—when…" Another figure—Eraqus, I'm guessing—appeared beside Ansem, and when it brought out its Keyblade the Spectro figure reached out to touch it…creating a single beacon of pure white light.

"M'contact wit' the Keyblade infused me wit' some o' its power, an' wit' that…" The beacon of light faded, and the valley was gone. All the color that was left had formed a larger imitation of Spectro—one with two small Keyblades in its hands. The Keyblades almost immediately melted into the figure's hands, melding with his arms to form tiny individual keys on each finger "…I got m'own set o' Keys. 'Course, the Universe had enough Keys t'enough Locks; what it needed was somethin' t'maintain it all, make sure it all ran smoothly. So…it gave me some Lock Picks: Pickblades, see?"

As Spectro let the last of his constructs fade away, I noticed that his hands had changed; the ends of his fingers had morphed into long, slender skeleton keys, each one emitting a single wisp of the colored energy. As he sent the colors away, his hands danced and shifted, each movement guiding the colors to his will until they were completely gone. I was…in complete awe, but when I looked up at Spectro's face…all I saw was sadness.

"Th'power would've twisted any other bludger, but me…I jus' wanted t'learn more. Tha's how I found all th'colors an' what-not—I was jus' tinkerin' wit' the light 'n dark one day, and they split into all this. I spent years workin' wit'em, collectin' samples from m'friends an' storin'em f'study, an' I wanted t'show m'cobbers o'er in Radiant Garden—it coulda fixed everythin' wit' the War that was goin' on out on the border worlds—but I was too late. Th' War found a'ways o' sneakin' up on me, and next thing I know it knockin' on m'doorstep. One o' the dark Keys started destroyin' everythin', and when I tried t'stop it, the bludger sent me away somewhere…an' I was alone f'God knows how long."

"What happened then?" My head darted back behind me in response, and…wow, really? That Sora kid, along Kairi, Axel, and Demyx, was huddled right behind me, drinking in every word he said. Not that I was any better, but at the very least I had an excuse; he was talking to me, anyhow!

"That bludger Xemnas found me, after all of yeh died an' wound up wit' me. He…he promised t'let me loose, send me home…an'then, one thing after another, I wound up here wit' all o' you."

Xemnas knew about his home world? No…it…it couldn't have been. Although, if the Keyblade War made it to his world, there really wasn't much other option, was there?

"So…you all're safe 'n free an' all that; think y'can help me find m'home? It's been f'ever since I was there, I hope everything worked out ok…is th'War over?"

Oh Lord…what was I supposed to tell him? He'd done so much for us, in such a short time…how could I possibly make this right? He was looking to me for an answer, and all I could do was stand there speechless…

"It turned out ok in the end, right Zex?" I felt his hand pat me on the shoulder as Axel strode past me to address Spectro face to face. "That whole War thing ended years before the rest of us were even born, and we don't know much about it, but everything turned out ok. There's, like, half a dozen Keybladers walking around now, but the worlds are getting by pretty well without them." He started fidgeting: not good. He was running out of ways to comfort the poor guy. "You wanna see'em? 'Cause, if you want, we can show you all the places we come from…"

"…and you can meet all our friends too." I couldn't believe it; Sora—or Roxas or whoever, I couldn't tell—he stepped forward too, beaming while pulling Kairi along to surround the guy in a literal circle of support. "There's a lot of us: Donald, Goofy, Leon and Yuffie…I'll bet they'd love to meet you!"

"Yeah, yeah…they'd love it. So, we'll let you meet them, and then we'll help you get home. Got that plan memorized?"

With all those smiling faces around him, it was no wonder that Spectro wasn't able to hide a small grin himself. "A'ight, a'ight…why not? I'll stick wit' you blokes, see what the whole shebang's turned to wit'out me t'gussy up the place." He then looked back at me and Demyx—the only two dummies who hadn't joined up in the fun. "Well? Whattaya think, we all still cobbers or what?"

I glanced over at Demyx to get his read on it all, and he just shrugged. "Hey, I'll go if you go. Beats being alone in this depressing city."

That said it: I was in. No matter what, these people, even the one that I barely knew…they were my people, my friends: the closest thing I had to family. We all looked out for one another through all of this—even Demyx, as Axel later told me. That kind of bond…you don't find that often—some people don't find it at all—and I wasn't going to let a chance at keeping it pass me by. I stepped forward with the others and took Spectro's hand, feeling the tingle of blue sparks hit my gloved hand. "Yeah, I'm with you. C'mon, let's get out of here; it's a brand new world out there, Spectro. I think we're going to love it."

* * *

Well, I'm sorry to say that the next chapter...will be the last. :( Not to worry, the next one will be up soon (It's long, but I'm almost done!), and then...off to the sequel!

Please review. Reviews to me are like balance to ice-skaters; you're going to fall flat on your face without it.


	19. Epilogue: One Month Later

Hello everyone, I'm back! Sorry this took me so long, but I've been really busy lately: lead role in a play at school, Speech and Debate tournaments, it's bee a real whirlwind. But I'm here now, and this last chapter is extra long to make up for the lost time.

* * *

**Epilogue: One Month Later**

A brand new world...yep, I think I was pretty accurate on that assumption. It's fresh, it's new...and above all else, I think I really do love it. I never thought I'd say this, but I might actually have a chance to be happy here.

And here...is where I am right now: my new home, a place better than I ever could have dreamed. The skies are blue, the air is fresh...all I need is to close my eyes, and breathe in the warm, clean air...

"Hey, Ienzo! You coming or what?"

**Ienzo's PoV**

Heh, Ienzo. It's been so long since I've heard my real name, it still take me a minute to register that it's me that he's calling. I turn back from the crashing waves, watching Sora as he speeds across the sand to meet me...and I don't even try to hold back the grin on my face as he practically falls over trying to avoid bumping into me.

"Huh...huh...Suh-Sorry about that, Ian, but we've gotta get going now, or we're gonna miss his act!"

"Alright, alright, I'm fine. Let's go, we don't want to keep everyone waiting."

We set off for the bridge to the main island—not too long a walk, but far enough to get some daydreaming done on the way. Especially now, with the sun setting to our left, making everything pink and orange...it feels perfect, like anything is possible. While I jump from spot to spot, trying to see how many shells I can find, Sora calmly follows behind me with his arms relaxed behind his head.

"So, how do you like Destiny Islands so far? I know it's gotta be weird, getting used to how slow it get around here..."

I spin around at the end of a jump to face him, arms spread wide so I can feel the wind flowing beneath my arms. "Are you kidding? I love it! The sand, the wind, the sun—oh, the sun! You know, I've never lived anywhere this warm before? It feels great!"

Sora had stopped walking at this point, and the second I stop talking he gives me the weirdest look...then bends over and bursts into fits of laughter.

I keep smiling, but I can still feel that small cringe building up in the back of my head. "What...What's so funny?"

"It's...it's just...this is too weird! I mean, you were a member of Organization XIII, for crying out loud! How is it that you're so...so..."

"Human? Feeling? Happy?"

"Y-Yeah, right. I mean, I know you told me you're only a year older than me, but...well, look at you!"

He's right: I don't look like I used to be one of those psychos. I've got on a purple t-shirt, a white collared-shirt over that...I mean for God's sake, I'm wearing purple shorts and a pair of sandals! "Well, you're right—I do look different. Heck, I feel different." He still looks a bit uneasy, so I flash a big smile at him. "But y'know what? I wouldn't give it up for anything. I'm not in the dark anymore: I'm free."

He finally returns the smile, then walks up to where I'm standing and puts a hand on my shoulder like an older brother. "I'm glad. I know it couldn't have been easy out there—Roxas told me about some of it—but...if you need anything, you just ask, ok?"

"Sora, you let me into your world, your house, your life: you've done more than enough."

He chuckles at that, then steps past me to look at the bridge a couple yards away. "Still, don't be afraid to ask. We're friends now, Ienzo; I'm there for you, and you're there for me. Simple as that. Now c'mon, looks like we're gonna be just in time."

* * *

**Kairi's PoV**

"Hey, you guys made it!"

Thank goodness Sora found Ienzo before sundown! It's a miracle I even managed to save this table...

I still can't believe he's gotten this popular this quickly; this is the biggest teen spot on the Islands, and already his act is selling out seats every time he comes through town. I stand up and wave my arms as high as I can so the boys can see me through all the people, and once they squeeze through the crowd they sit down on the chairs that I had to fight to save and make themselves comfortable. Ienzo seems a bit nervous—he doesn't like crowds—but hey, at least he came.

"Thanks for saving the spot, Kairi. That couldn't have been easy..."

"Oh it's no problem, Ian. I'm just glad I got here before all the crazy fan girls took half the seats!" I laugh at my own bad joke—I might as well be one of them, I know the guy so well—then sit down with the both of them. "So, you adjusting ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." Still, something's still wrong with the poor guy, I can tell. He isn't making any eye contact with me, instead letting his eyes dart around the place. "Hey, didn't you say Riku was coming?"

Oh right...Riku. He...hasn't adjusted well to the idea of an ex-Organization member living among us. "I...I'm sorry Ian, he decided not to come: too much homework." I practically have to spit the excuse out; I hate lying to Ienzo, but if half of what Riku's told me is true, then the two of them are going to have to work the past out themselves.

Sora doesn't buy it though; he sees the discomfort I'm feeling but, being the lovable guy that he is, he doesn't get what it is I'm feeling it about. "Kairi...are you ok? You don't look so good...is it Namine again?"

Well, Sora is attentive if nothing else—remember when I was feeling her memories a while back? Well, for the most part I've just left it alone. I don't really know how to explain it, but it's not really the same as what's happened with Sora and Roxas. I haven't heard her voice, or felt her emotions...I just see some of her memories sometimes, that's all. At first it scared me, but when it didn't become anymore than that, I just made peace with it—she hasn't called out to me, so...I think she might be fine with where she is right now. She's at peace with where she is—and so am I. "No, it's not Namine. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Alright everyone, settle down, settle down..." As Wakka stepped up to the microphone, the whole place suddenly went dead quiet—show time. "Well everybody, it's time for everyone's favorite performer—fresh and good to go for his last show before his tri-world tour! You may have heard of him from his raves in Radiant Garden, his torrents in Twilight Town, or maybe even his tourneys in Traverse Town. He's the Flurry of Dancing Flames, and he's here now! So put your hands together and show us your stuff...for Axel the Flurry!"

"Yeah, Axel! Whoooohoooo!" I cheer at the top of my lungs with the rest of the crowd as our old buddy Axel steps onto the stage, dressed in nothing but a simple brown pair of pants. Taking complete command of the audience, he flashes a smile to a table of girls in the back—sending them all into a single swooning motion—and pulls out his chakrams, setting them ablaze in a single motion.

"How's everybody doin' tonight?"

Judging by the roar of the crowd, I'd say they were doing alright.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road! Burn, baby!" And just like that, he did a cartwheel off to the side and began his routine, spinning and burning and creating shapes more beautiful and intricate than I've ever seen before in my life. By now we're all standing up and cheering for him, and as I look over at Ienzo and Sora to see the excitement on their faces...I see something. It isn't much, but for just a second...I swear I see it.

I've seen it a few times before, but I've never asked Ienzo about it—he's still new around here, I don't want to make him anymore self-conscious than he is. Plus, I wasn't sure the last few times, but I'm positive now: for just a moment, I saw a faint, kind of dark-bluish glow around Ienzo's eyes. The rest of him looks fine—he's not jumping up and down like most of the room, but his smile's wider than I've ever seen it—it's just his eyes, like there's some sort of power around them...

...oh well, I can't worry about that now; we're having fun right now, now's not the time. I look back to the stage just in time to see Axel deliver the grand finale: a spectacular explosion as the chakrams collide in midair and vanish.

"Whoooooo! Go Axel!"

* * *

**Axel's PoV**

Whew...that was an intense show! I tell ya, I love show business: the money's great, and now that Spectro's set up the new hexa-world tram system I'm the first to move in on the biggest show-biz venture anyone's ever seen!

Still, there is one downside to it all: doing a goodbye performance my last night on a world. As I somersault off the stage to the chorus of screaming girls a familiar face come up for support, bringing with him the always-needed, post-show water bottle to cheer me up. "Hey, you ok man? You look a little worn down, bruthah."

Wakka's been awesome through all of this: organizing the gigs and publicity, keeping me from overheating so I can keep going on with said gigs. He's my manager, got it memorized? "I'm good, Wakka. You know the drill: a little cool-off time, some clean clothes, and I'm good to go." He tosses me the bottle, I pour it over arms, and it's all I can do to stand as the steam leaves my skin in billows of relief, taking all the excess heat from the show with it. "Ahhhh, that's the spot...!"

"Yeah, I got it man, but we gotta get goin' now." He throws me my usual outfit—a dark red t-shirt and yellow scarf—before ushering me around the stage and off towards the new train station. "I'm gonna stick around, wrap up a few things...I'll see yah at the home office t'morrah, see what I can do about getting you racked up for s'more shows in yah home town, yah?"

"Sure Wakka, as long as you let me sleep tonight." We finally reach the steps up to the station, and I jump up them two steps at a time before looking back to give Wakka a final salute.

"Ohhh, I get it: getting home t'yah sweetheart, yah?"

"What? No! No, I...I don't have..." He sees right through me though, laughing as the heat of the redness on my cheeks starts to spread across my entire face.

Wakka's a cool guy though; he doesn't give me too much grief about it. He just gives me a small wink before turning to walk back to town, waving an arm loosely above his head to see me off. "Ok, ok, I'll leave you be—just be sure you actually get some sleep, so we can get crackin' tomorrow!"

"Will do, Wakka." And at that, I turn around and half-skip my way through the glass doors to the train station, pulling out my tickets so I could get home as soon as possible.

* * *

"Next stop, Twilight Station. Repeat, in a few minutes Tram One will be arriving at Twilight Station."

Finally, I'm home! These new trains...they're a hell of a lot more convenient than those old Gummi Ships and all, but man do they make for long trips! The two hours it takes to get from Destiny Islands to Twilight Town always drive me crazy...but it doesn't matter now; I'm here now, and I can finally relax knowing that I'm gonna see him soon.

"Please step back from the doors. Tram One has arrived at Twilight Station."

I can't even contain myself, I'm so excited; the second those doors open, I rocket past the other passengers out onto the station platform. I push my way past person after person, their faces not even registering in my mind; all I can think is that I have to find him. C'mon, c'mon...I made a deal with Spectro of all people to get him back, if I could just find him everything would be—

"Hey Axel."

I stop, frozen in place. There he is, leaning against the railway, holding two ice creams in his hand—and time just stops. There's nobody here, nothing standing in my way—there's just him, with his short, spiky golden hair, his perfect skin. That small coy smile spreading across his face...

"Hey, I thought I was the spacy zombie, remember?" He comes away from the rail and steps closer to me, letting one of the ice creams in between his fingers fall so it points right at me. "C'mon, have an ice cream; you look like you need it, and I'm pretty sure it's the only way I'm gonna hear how your day went."

It takes a second, but I get a hold of myself and reach out to take the stick. "...Ok, yeah, sure. Thanks." Slowly, trying as hard as I can not to break whatever spell had to be over me, I brought the ice cream up to my mouth...and took a small lick. Immediately, I smile; it's cold, really cold, and I can taste that strange mix of salt and sweet and sea that you just can't find anywhere else. Nothing can beat it, and nothing can copy it either. That's good...

That mean this is real.

"Feeling better?" He takes another step closer, so that there's barely an inch between us. He looks up at me with those big blue eyes, wanting so badly to help me...and I can't hold back anymore; I grab Roxas by the shoulders and kiss him, praying to God that I haven't just made a huge mistake. I've been on the road all month, I've barely gotten any sleep...maybe I'm not remembering things right—maybe Roxas doesn't like me like that. With that thought running through my head I quickly pull out, looking to Roxas to get some idea of what the hell I'm supposed to do now...and he smiles. He smiles...and moves his arms to the outside of mine so that he's the one holding me.

"I'm glad you're back." And this time he kisses me, a soft, passionate, loving kiss that I lose myself in as our arms travel up each other, each one in the other's embrace. I close my eyes, taking in this moment in my mind because...this is it. This is what I've been searching for almost all of my life. I've got the heart, the guy, the career, the fame...hell, it's official: I've arrived. Yeah baby, I am here and I am loving it!

* * *

**Spectro's PoV**

Aw, don' those two jus' make yeh heart melt? 'Course, how they hadn't gotten t'gether b'fore now, I've got bung on that...aw well, sometimes I figure yeh just don' need a reason: things happen, no need t'push it.

Well, a'least I know they're doin' alright; on t' the next one. I focus m'thoughts on th'others, an' the colors show them t'me. I c'n see Kairi an' Sora watchin' some chick-flick at his house, Ienzo in 'is room readin' the books Axel sent'em from the Garden, that Demyx bloke strummin' his sitar in front o' the hotel...all good. All things considered, I think I did al'ight.

_You have done well, Spectro; your friends are safe—if only for the time being._

Aw great, these guys again. "A'ight, who'm I talkin' to here? Are yeh still goin' by Nexus, or are we goin' wit' the good ol' 'divide'n'conquer' routine?"

_There is no "we" here, Spectro; you expended the others connecting the worlds' hearts for your transit system. Now, there is only me, forever here to aid in any way I can._

Bit o' a chatty Cathy, eh? Yeah, it's gotta be Indy: that one's always tryin' too hard t'get on m'good side—not that the bludger ever does. "Yeah, well, beat it Indy; yeh've caused me enough trouble t'last me a lifetime."

_How have I done you any wrong? How have any of us done you wrong for that matter? When you were captured, we were directionless; the violet light wished only to call for help when it contacted Axel. Surely you do not blame any of us for that?_

Another thing: Indy c'n drive me nuts wit' all the overanalyzin'. "Tha's not it, Indy—good try though, real insightful."

_The why can I sense brother red taking root in your heart? Why do you harbor resentment against me, a benevolent force by definition?_

_Most importantly, why don't you open your eyes?_

"What? What're yeh talkin' about, m'eyes're wide open. I c'n see—"

_You know in your heart this is not so. I have been merely a facilitator here, showing you your friends and their good fortune...but you cannot shy away from your own fate. Open your eyes, see what the world has given you...you will have to face it sooner or later._

He's not gonna shut up 'til I do it, is he? The bludger's got a point though...I gotta do it at some point: might as well be now. I raise m'head—m'neck screechin' wit' all the strain o' sittin' still f'so long—and...tha'glow starts t'fade. I...hadn't noticed th'junk b'fore, but now, as it fades away...I see a place I don' even recognize.

I'm sittin', all crisscross an' all that, on top o' this huge column. At least, I think tha's what it is; the ground makes a nice littl' circle around me, all orange an' sandy, an' past tha's just open air. It's real dark too—everywhere I look, I see nuthin' but fields o' stars in th'sky, far's th'eye c'n see. An' my heart jumps right up into m'throat: the ground's weird, but I'd know that sky anywhere.

"I...I did it. I—I really did it, I'm home, I'm right at m'fair dinky di home!"

_Yes, this is your original home, but...this is not Australia: not anymore. Look down, over the edge._

I swear, I'd be floatin' on air if I had enough color t'do it. I roll off onto m'side, strech out m'legs, and flip over so I c'n peek over the side of th'column. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's fine—I'm home, I'm healthy, I'm not in some giant prison. Everything's gonna...be...

"No...nononononononono..."

There's nuthin' down there. No tents, no people, nuthin'. There's jus'sand, and hills...and thousands of those damn Keyblades, stickin' out o' the ground like they're flags claimin' the place.

_The Keyblade War decimated the world's landscape, killing every living thing on its surface. The people, the culture, even the true name of this world became lost to the sands of time, leaving only the moniker given to warn those who tread upon it..._

"Keyblade Graveyard..." I'd heard stories 'bout the place durin' m'work in the Garden—Ienzo found records in that big ol' library of theirs—but I never thought... "This...This can't be m'world. There were people here, an' tribes an' sand ships an' all sorts o'little bush critters...I-I can' accept this. I can't, I won't—"

_Spectro! You need to calm down, look at your hands._

I look down, purely outta reflex...an' I freeze. M'hands...the gauntlets're drippin' wit' the red ooze, taintin' the met'l joints, stingin' m'fingers, turnin' the stone floor below me t'silly putty!

"No...not again!"

I-I start panicin'—this can't be happenin', not after last time—and I scramble back from th'edge in a heap. I dig m'hands into m'armpits, bitin' down as the acid burns m'skin, an' squeeze m'eyes shut as m'mouth starts spewin' ooze an' prayers t'gether, all in a big jumble. I-It can' happen, it can't—but I know it will; it's always the same. First the red, then the yellow sparks—'til there's nuthin' left, 'til I'm alone, all alone. Help, sombody help, help—

_Spectro...You are having another panic attack: why?_

Yeh-Yeah, some help 'e is. "Why'd yeh think, yeh big do-nuthin' pansy? It's all gone, the whole goddamn thing's jus'—

_It is alright; I am here, I can help._

I feel Indy's waves washin' over me, tryin' t'calm me down, but it's not enough—the red 'n' yellow're too big, too strong, takin' me, drownin' me—

_No, they will not have you; I can promise you that...and this:_

_You are in pain, this is true. You feel scared and angry and alone—this is also true. However, brother red and sister yellow...they exist only as reactions to your pain. Fear and anger cannot sustain themselves alone, so they feed on your pain like parasites. If you wish to be free of them, of your pain...if you trust my function as connecter and healer well enough, then look deep inside your heart. Look behind the pain and the anger, find the root cause of it all inside...and see what light will shine._

All while he's speakin', the flow o' red's been slowin' down, almost stoppin', an' the waves o' Indy's light have been growin' stronger an' stronger. I have t'do it; it's the best shot I've got, right? I open m'eyes, stare out blankly so I c'n disconnect from everythin' else...an' I take the dive. I go inside.

_Well? What do you see?_

**The End...For Now

* * *

**

Yes, I know, I'm addicted to cliffhangers. Not to worry though: the sequel is coming much faster than this chapter did, so be on the lookout!

Please review: Reviews to me are like Private Practice to Grey's Anatomy; they can't stand on there own, but they allow me to dig much deeper than I could with the original story itself.


	20. The Sequel is Here!

It's here everybody! As of just a few minutes ago, The sequel to Nobody, Nothing, No Matter is up! If you want to read it, the name is Interludes of Shadowy Light.

Please, R&R!

foxworth


End file.
